[TEASER] Sins of the Past

[Rich Yulin]

(OOC: So this ended up being a bit darker than I originally thought, so I wanted to preface it with what our mission will be about to put it in context and to assure that the mission itself will have a different tone from the rather grim teaser.

Basically, we are going to encounter an alien civilization with a shameful past. At one point in their history, they had engaged in biological warfare and genocide against their own people, much like humans and World War III according to Trek canon. Hundreds of years later, this civilization will have reformed and asks the Federation/Starfleet for our help in disposing of these dangerous weapons that remain on the planet, long since abandoned but still deadly.

My hope with this teaser is to illustrate the horror and brutality of what they did, the danger of these weapons, and to help set the stage now for our mission and those playing our MSPNPCs, who have since tried to right the sins of their past.)

((Three hundred years ago...))

::Xan was doing his best to remain at attention during the speech, but the scorching sun overhead was relentless. Sweat poured down his neck, staining the tight collar of his uniform. He tried to focus on the man speaking on the stage, but the words were all blending together as they rang out from the loudspeakers.::

Zav: You all right there, Xan?

::Xan gave a quick sideways glance at his patrol partner. What was she trying to do? Get them flogged for conduct unbecoming during the chancellor's speech?::

Xan: ::terse:: Ahem. I'm fine, officer. Why don't you try paying attention to the speech...

Zav: Hmmph.

::She darted her eyes away from him back to the stage. So much for caring about a friend.::

::Zav never enjoyed these functions. What was the point, she wondered. Just more political grandstanding. As if the chancellor was really going to commit more resources to the effort. Just once, Zav wished he or any other blowhard politician would join her and Xan on a shift. They liked to talk a good game, but she doubted any of them would last a day in uniform on the streets.::

Chancellor: And so I say to you, while we have made much progress thanks to the efforts of our brave men and women in uniform, the greatest triumph now awaits our people! With this new initiative I am announcing today, we will at long last rid our civilization of these deviants!

::Cheers erupted from the assembly. Zav and Xan remained at attention as a shackled prisoner was brought onto the stage for the demonstration. The man limped forward, two guards holding him up. He'd been obviously drugged for the show.::

::The chancellor looked down at him from his podium with disgust.::

Chancellor: For too long, we have allowed these deviants to terrorize our streets, our schools, our children--our community! Well I say no more! I know I am not the first chancellor to say that, but I damn well will be the last because today, we will finally put an end to this!

::He turned to the guards and nodded. The prisoner was placed into the pillory on the stage before the guards stepped back.::

Chancellor: Thanks to the efforts of our scientists, we were able to provide our officers the tools they needed to easily identify and track these criminals a few years ago. Well now, I'm proud to announce our latest breakthrough in our fight to preserve our civilization. ::He looked to a nearby guard.:: Officer, if you will.

::The guard raised his rifle, taking aim at the prisoner. He then fired, a puff of smoke emerging from the barrel and soon engulfing the prisoner, who breathed in the yellow-green gas before he began violently choking.::

Chancellor: We have isolated the genes responsible for the deviancy and have engineered a new bioweapon that can target specifically those who carry these markers.

::The prisoner continued to gasp for air as he began violently shaking, his wrists and neck still bound.::

Chancellor: My fellow citizens, with this new resource at our disposal, we are finally at the end of our long struggle.

::He turned back and watched as the prisoner took his last breath before falling limp.::

Chancellor: ...but tracking every deviant down one by one is far too inefficient. And that's the beauty of this new weapon. We can deliver it on a wider scale.

::Zav heard the low hum of aerial drone vehicles overhead and looked up to see a small fleet flying towards the public square. This hadn't been mentioned during the morning event briefing.::

::The chancellor looked up as well, nodding with a grin, before he gazed out back into the crowd.::

Chancellor: And we will start in our beautiful capital.

::The drones quickly flew across the crowds, dispersing a fine mist of the bioweapon over everyone. There were screams as the panicked crowd now began splitting up, people running fo shelter.::

::Zav coughed as she covered her face, a nasty acidic taste already forming in her mouth. But within a few seconds, the air was clear again, and she could breathe easy. She also suddenly realized how quiet everything was, the screams of terror now silenced.::

::She looked around to see the crowd had thinned noticeably as bodies lay around the square.::

Zav: ::gasps:: Oh my God, Xan... can you believe...

::Her voice trailed off as she turned and saw her partner lying face down in the ground.::

Zav: Xan? Xan!

::She knelt down and quickly turned him over, but he was dead, streaks of blood running from his eyes, nose, and mouth. But how? He wasn't a deviant!::

::No, she thought. There couldn't be a possibility. They'd been partners for nearly five years, every officer on the force was given a thorough screening. And most of all, Xan had hated the deviants as much as any other patriot.::

::She held onto his body a bit longer as the chancellor's deep voice came over the loudspeakers once more.::

Chancellor: Let today be remembered as the first day of peace.

CUE OPENING CREDITS

Writer ID I238705TZ0