Home plot || Daniel
I was standing in a bathroom. A hotel bathroom. I couldn't remember how I'd gotten there and I didn't know why I was holding torn up pieces of a towl in my hands. I thought hard, closing my eyes. There was something familiar about this but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Oh boy," came a man's voice from the other room. A voice I recognized...but when I stepped out I couldn't place him.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Checking to see if I have both my kidneys," he replied. "Vala, what's going on here?"
"You know me?"
"Yeah. Of course. Why?" he asked, seemingly confused as to why I didn't know him. I felt like maybe I should, but again, it eluded me. "You don't remember me?"
"I don't remember much of anything. Least of all who I am, or why everyone is after me. That's why I brought you here. You're going to supply me with some much-needed answers," I said.
"Aaah. You know, maybe we should call the rest of the team; they're generally better at answers." I simply looked at him. That was no sort of answer. "Okay, here goes. Your name is Vala Mal Doran. You're a member of Stargate Command, a top secret facility located beneath Cheyenne Mountain. It's the command center for a military organization responsible for offworld exploration and reconnaissance by means of a device known as a Stargate, a portal which allows near-instantaneous transport between planets."
At that I picked up one of his dog tags. Yes, US Air Force, that much was right. But the rest? I was skeptical.
"How'm I doing so far?" he asked.
"Not good," I told him.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth."
I wondered if he knew how completely ridiculous he sounded. I couldn't remember anything, but I was sure that there was no such thing as a Stargate.
"Hm. Okay. So, we're space explorers?" I asked, not seriously buying into this.
"Well, technically, me and my team are the explorers. You're just… along for the ride, because… Well, you're not originally from this planet; you're an alien."
Of course I was an alien. That made...no sense. He was a worse liar than I was and I was fairly terrible at it. I listened to him talk but I busied myself with taking all the money out of his wallet.
"And I mean that in the nicest possible way!" he continued. "Y'know, when you say 'alien', people think green skin, four eyes, tentacles, what have you, but the- the reality is very, very different."
"Mm-hm. I'm borrowing some more money," I said dismissively.
"Look, take you, for example. You're human. Hell, you're more human than most of my neighbors, especially that guy in 304," Mitchell told me, talking on and on even though I'd tuned him out.
"I'll be back," I said, then headed for the door.
"Look, since you're part of the team maybe you should think about-"
"Won't be long," I said, then closed the door on his crazy ramblings.
*** *** ***
I took his money and headed for the store, thinking of what he'd said. Aliens. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous...and yet it might explain some of the flashes I was having. Images of tall metal creatures shaped like birds and jackals. Explosions and fire. People bowing down before me. Maybe I was an alien queen. Oh, there was an idea. I smiled to myself at the thought. What a fantasy. I knew I really wasn't, but it was fun to dream. Dream. Had I been dreaming? When had I last slept?
Had I slept with Mitchell? And what had happened to him? I think he'd been shot, but I wasn't sure.
I wandered through the store picking out pastries in cellophane wrappers. I didn't pay much attention to what I grabbed or how much it cost. I was stuck thinking about what Mitchell had told me. A top secret program. Under Cheyenne mountain. For some reason that was familiar. Again, I didn't know why.
I paid and walked back slowly, keenly aware of everything around me. I was so afraid that I was going to be grabbed, and yet I didn't know why. It seemed like...had that happened? I tried so hard to think and yet nothing came.
*** *** ***
As soon as I opened the door I saw that Mitchell hadn't moved. Of course he hadn't. I'd cuffed him to the bed. He did look rather fetching, stripped to his underwear and cuffed to the bed.
What/ I could allow myself a small indulgence.
"Okay," he said immediately. "I think I've figured out what happened to you, why you don't remember anything."
"Oh, good. Does it involve an alien abduction?" I asked, my voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm. I dropped the bag on the table and it immediately tipped over, spilling the contents. I picked up one cake that looked particularly delicious.
"Well, in as much as that you're an alien who was abducted, yes," he said. I thought that that didn't lend much to his credibility, but I had to admire how he stuck to his story. "You were undergoing a procedure which was designed to dig up some of your suppressed memories. The scientist that we captured told us that, during the procedure, the device was destroyed, which allowed you the opportunity to escape.
"From the aliens?" I asked, dubious of his story although I must admit, the alien queen fantasy was tempting to believe.
"No, they weren't aliens," he said. "Though they're working for an alien... but that's not really important."
I thought about that for a second and then dismissed it. Clearly he was a lunatic or had a head injury. Really, honestly, who did he think I was? Some gullible rube?
"Vala isn't a particularly alien name," I noted casually.
He didn't give up. "So I'm thinking that this device was in the middle of digging up these suppressed memories when - bam - it overloads and fries your brain. So instead of helping you remember, it actually made you forget. Everything."
Once again, I tuned him out. I was much more interested in reading the ingredients of my cake. It had some very interesting things in it. Polysorbate. Hydrogenated.
"Disodium guanylate. That would make a great alien name, don't you think?" I asked absently.
And he still didn't give up. I wondered if this was some sort of Air Force training, this commitment to a tale.
"I can understand why you might be having difficulty believing what I'm telling you. But there is one thing you cannot deny. There are some very, very bad people after you."
I walked over and joined him on the bed.
"Mm. And how do I know you're not one of them?" I asked, humoring his little tale.
"Because I saved you from them!" he insisted.
"What if they were trying to save me from you?" I pointed out."How am I supposed to know?"
"Let me take you back to Stargate Command," he pleaded. "We have a device that can help you remember."
A HA. A hole in his story. Really, the only thing I could do was exploit that. It was a moral imperative.
"I thought you said the device was destroyed," I said flatly. If nothing else it assured him that I had been paying attention.
"It's a different device. It's one I brought back from another planet last year," he replied, clearly frustrated that I had seen through his lies.
"Oh, good," I replied, feeling quite smug. "Were they having a sale?" I asked, then before he could answer I shoved a snack cake into his mouth. I got up and wiped my hands off on a bloody towel.
I had heard enough. It was time for me to go. I had some cash left over. I took the gun with me as I gave him one last look.
"Vala," he pleaded...but I walked out the door and left him there. Someone would find him. Eventually.
I walked on, keenly aware of slow cars, police, and the sound of footsteps. I felt as if I was being followed and ducked through a gate and into a building. As I hid myself in a shadow behind a crate I could hear footsteps of people coming in after me. All I wanted was some peace. I just wanted to remember who I was. I just wanted to know the truth.
And then there was gun fire and all I really wanted was to be out of there.
"Oh boy," came a man's voice from the other room. A voice I recognized...but when I stepped out I couldn't place him.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Checking to see if I have both my kidneys," he replied. "Vala, what's going on here?"
"You know me?"
"Yeah. Of course. Why?" he asked, seemingly confused as to why I didn't know him. I felt like maybe I should, but again, it eluded me. "You don't remember me?"
"I don't remember much of anything. Least of all who I am, or why everyone is after me. That's why I brought you here. You're going to supply me with some much-needed answers," I said.
"Aaah. You know, maybe we should call the rest of the team; they're generally better at answers." I simply looked at him. That was no sort of answer. "Okay, here goes. Your name is Vala Mal Doran. You're a member of Stargate Command, a top secret facility located beneath Cheyenne Mountain. It's the command center for a military organization responsible for offworld exploration and reconnaissance by means of a device known as a Stargate, a portal which allows near-instantaneous transport between planets."
At that I picked up one of his dog tags. Yes, US Air Force, that much was right. But the rest? I was skeptical.
"How'm I doing so far?" he asked.
"Not good," I told him.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth."
I wondered if he knew how completely ridiculous he sounded. I couldn't remember anything, but I was sure that there was no such thing as a Stargate.
"Hm. Okay. So, we're space explorers?" I asked, not seriously buying into this.
"Well, technically, me and my team are the explorers. You're just… along for the ride, because… Well, you're not originally from this planet; you're an alien."
Of course I was an alien. That made...no sense. He was a worse liar than I was and I was fairly terrible at it. I listened to him talk but I busied myself with taking all the money out of his wallet.
"And I mean that in the nicest possible way!" he continued. "Y'know, when you say 'alien', people think green skin, four eyes, tentacles, what have you, but the- the reality is very, very different."
"Mm-hm. I'm borrowing some more money," I said dismissively.
"Look, take you, for example. You're human. Hell, you're more human than most of my neighbors, especially that guy in 304," Mitchell told me, talking on and on even though I'd tuned him out.
"I'll be back," I said, then headed for the door.
"Look, since you're part of the team maybe you should think about-"
"Won't be long," I said, then closed the door on his crazy ramblings.
*** *** ***
I took his money and headed for the store, thinking of what he'd said. Aliens. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous...and yet it might explain some of the flashes I was having. Images of tall metal creatures shaped like birds and jackals. Explosions and fire. People bowing down before me. Maybe I was an alien queen. Oh, there was an idea. I smiled to myself at the thought. What a fantasy. I knew I really wasn't, but it was fun to dream. Dream. Had I been dreaming? When had I last slept?
Had I slept with Mitchell? And what had happened to him? I think he'd been shot, but I wasn't sure.
I wandered through the store picking out pastries in cellophane wrappers. I didn't pay much attention to what I grabbed or how much it cost. I was stuck thinking about what Mitchell had told me. A top secret program. Under Cheyenne mountain. For some reason that was familiar. Again, I didn't know why.
I paid and walked back slowly, keenly aware of everything around me. I was so afraid that I was going to be grabbed, and yet I didn't know why. It seemed like...had that happened? I tried so hard to think and yet nothing came.
*** *** ***
As soon as I opened the door I saw that Mitchell hadn't moved. Of course he hadn't. I'd cuffed him to the bed. He did look rather fetching, stripped to his underwear and cuffed to the bed.
What/ I could allow myself a small indulgence.
"Okay," he said immediately. "I think I've figured out what happened to you, why you don't remember anything."
"Oh, good. Does it involve an alien abduction?" I asked, my voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm. I dropped the bag on the table and it immediately tipped over, spilling the contents. I picked up one cake that looked particularly delicious.
"Well, in as much as that you're an alien who was abducted, yes," he said. I thought that that didn't lend much to his credibility, but I had to admire how he stuck to his story. "You were undergoing a procedure which was designed to dig up some of your suppressed memories. The scientist that we captured told us that, during the procedure, the device was destroyed, which allowed you the opportunity to escape.
"From the aliens?" I asked, dubious of his story although I must admit, the alien queen fantasy was tempting to believe.
"No, they weren't aliens," he said. "Though they're working for an alien... but that's not really important."
I thought about that for a second and then dismissed it. Clearly he was a lunatic or had a head injury. Really, honestly, who did he think I was? Some gullible rube?
"Vala isn't a particularly alien name," I noted casually.
He didn't give up. "So I'm thinking that this device was in the middle of digging up these suppressed memories when - bam - it overloads and fries your brain. So instead of helping you remember, it actually made you forget. Everything."
Once again, I tuned him out. I was much more interested in reading the ingredients of my cake. It had some very interesting things in it. Polysorbate. Hydrogenated.
"Disodium guanylate. That would make a great alien name, don't you think?" I asked absently.
And he still didn't give up. I wondered if this was some sort of Air Force training, this commitment to a tale.
"I can understand why you might be having difficulty believing what I'm telling you. But there is one thing you cannot deny. There are some very, very bad people after you."
I walked over and joined him on the bed.
"Mm. And how do I know you're not one of them?" I asked, humoring his little tale.
"Because I saved you from them!" he insisted.
"What if they were trying to save me from you?" I pointed out."How am I supposed to know?"
"Let me take you back to Stargate Command," he pleaded. "We have a device that can help you remember."
A HA. A hole in his story. Really, the only thing I could do was exploit that. It was a moral imperative.
"I thought you said the device was destroyed," I said flatly. If nothing else it assured him that I had been paying attention.
"It's a different device. It's one I brought back from another planet last year," he replied, clearly frustrated that I had seen through his lies.
"Oh, good," I replied, feeling quite smug. "Were they having a sale?" I asked, then before he could answer I shoved a snack cake into his mouth. I got up and wiped my hands off on a bloody towel.
I had heard enough. It was time for me to go. I had some cash left over. I took the gun with me as I gave him one last look.
"Vala," he pleaded...but I walked out the door and left him there. Someone would find him. Eventually.
I walked on, keenly aware of slow cars, police, and the sound of footsteps. I felt as if I was being followed and ducked through a gate and into a building. As I hid myself in a shadow behind a crate I could hear footsteps of people coming in after me. All I wanted was some peace. I just wanted to remember who I was. I just wanted to know the truth.
And then there was gun fire and all I really wanted was to be out of there.