GM Craig: So, time passes. You are awoken some time later by the enunciator on the door.
Dawson: I am a bit disoriented.. looking around the room, it takes me a second to realize where I am. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, and head to the door.
GM Craig: The door opens and your new friend, Kelso is there. He smiles warmly, and nods. "Morning, sunshine."
Dawson: I try to suppress a yawn, unsuccessfully.. "Morning yourself. What time is it?" I wave him into the room, and close the door behind him.
GM Craig: "oh-four-thirty"
Dawson: <choke>
GM Craig: He laughs a little. "We don't let the moss grow on us here... Besides, you have an important meeting."
Dawson: Scrubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sit down on the edge of the bed, and motion for him to take the chair. "Ok. I?m awake. Can you bring me up to speed?"
GM Craig: He turns the chair around with one hand, and sits, arms crossed on the back of the chair. A serious look comes over him. "You're going to meet Senator Pasteur, if you decide to. But before you can meet her, there are a few conditions and a few things I need to explain."
Dawson: I nod.
GM Craig: "Our little resistance is very precarious. Only one major battle and we're history." He snaps his fingers. "We have a few resources, but we're desperately short on manpower, and we live and die by stealth and secrecy." He waits for that to sink in.
Dawson: "I didn?t think this was going to be easy, you know, Kelso. I understand what you mean though."
GM Craig: He stays serious. "All totalled, we have less than 100 troops we could put into the field. The Empire has somewhere closer to 25,000 troops in this region alone, and that doesn't count air support and capital ships. So, if we make even one mistake, we're gone - all of us. For that reason, we need to take some extra precautions..."
Dawson: The numbers are astounding.. "I had no idea. What precautions??"
GM Craig: He is grim.
Dawson: "Kelso, you are starting to scare me a bit here..."
GM Craig: "Senator Pasteur is the leader of our resistance. She maintains a headquarters somewhere in the Vessen mountains. No-one knows how to get there. Not even me. You want to meet with her, you do it sedated. Those are the conditions." He waits.
Dawson: I shake my head in disbelief. "You want to dope me up and send me to a meeting with the head of your resistance. Do I have that right? When does this 'sedation' wear off?"
GM Craig: He holds up a syringe. "This is the sedative. When you get there, they give you a counter agent, wakes you up. You and the Senator have a little meeting, and then they decide what to do from there."
Dawson: "Kelso, do you know what you are asking me to do? I wouldn?t even take pain medication when I was in labour because I was afraid of losing control..."
GM Craig: He nods. "The choice is yours." He puts the syringe on the desk.
Dawson: "When is the meeting scheduled for"
GM Craig: He checks his chrono. "The ride should be here in half an hour."
Dawson: "And how long does this," I jerk my head at the syringe, "take to hit me?"
GM Craig: He says, "Not more than a minute or two, but full effectiveness doesn't hit for 10 minutes. You don't *have* to do this Dawson."
Dawson: I swallow.. hard.. "I know I don?t *have* to do this. I also didn?t have to decide to live thru Lendt, and make the Empire pay. But I did. And I do. But I have to tell you Kelso. I?m scared. Big time... "
GM Craig: He shrugs. "Up to you. You can still serve the resistance without the meeting..."
Dawson: "but the benefits of the meeting...."
GM Craig: He sighs. "Without it, you'll be a supporting player. Probably a scout, maybe a messenger. You'll be doing a lot of surveillance, but only under supervision. Don't misunderstand - these are vital jobs to the resistance. But you'll never move past them until you have a meeting."
Dawson: I nod, resigned. "Can you give me 5 minutes? And I?m NOT jabbing myself with that damn thing, so you better be a good shot..."
GM Craig: He smiles. "You think I'm doing it? We have a medic here that'll do the poking, and monitor your vitals to make sure it takes effect."
Dawson: "5 minutes, then. OK??
GM Craig: He rises, taking the syringe with him, and leaves without a word.
Dawson: When the door closes behind him, I sit on the edge of the bed, trying to come to terms with what I am about to do. My husbands face? my daughters dark blue eyes... dance in front of me. Tears rolling down my face, I whisper, ?I?m doing this for you...? I stand, and move to where my bag lays on the table, and I pull out the datapad.
GM Craig: [Still flashing at 64%.]
Dawson: Closing it up tight, I lay back on the bed.
Dawson: Guess I better hit the fresher, if I?m gonna meet a senator
GM Craig: You step out and the corridor is empty.
Dawson: heading down to the end of the hall, where Kelso said the fresher was
Dawson: mumbling to myself as I go... 'couldn?t just marry a normal guy. had to marry a pilot. Who had to get killed. Where are you keeping your brains, these days? join the resistance... of all the dumb ideas..? Once at the refresher, Ill take a peek inside to make sure its empty before heading in
GM Craig: Vacant.
Dawson: Once inside, I find myself going thru the motions of my ablutions. But my eyes keep going to the stranger in the mirror. Who have I become?? Ablutions complete, I head back to my room.. to wait..
GM Craig: Several minutes later (you figure it was closer to 20 than 5) the enunciator sounds again.
Dawson: I head over to the door.. I know what?s coming, no sense putting it off..
GM Craig: Kelso is there.
Dawson: I open the door, and wave him in. "No sense in putting off the inevitable. Where?s the medic?"
GM Craig: He nods. "This way."
Dawson: I snag my bag off the table, and follow him out.
GM Craig: He stops you. "You won't need the bag."
Dawson: "Keep it for me then, ok? Its? important."
GM Craig: He nods. "It'll be here when you get back."
Dawson: I let the bag go, reluctantly.
