Happy Holidays!

  So, it is nearly 8:30pm here on the west coast of the U.S. and I just survived another torturous Christmas Eve party. The guests are gone and I am still putting my house back together. The gifts are loaded in the truck, My sister left with the stuff for the stockings, and my feet and back are killing me! This is literally the first time I've sat down since 7am I believe. Whichever neighbor gave me the gingerbread, thanks, I have no clue who you are. Thanks though. I didn't get any, but it's all good.
Whatever is sticky on the floor in the dining room can wait. If the cat's get stuck... their problem. :D
I'm pooped. But, I still need to take a shower and post this before I can crash:

  I had considered doing another shot, this one from "A Christmas Intervention", but I ran out of time. The same could almost be said about my Reindeer project. I started it last January but I choked in the home stretch. Perhaps next year I'll figure out the problems and get it finished. Hopefully.
  I have to be up at 5am tomorrow and at my sister's by 7 to start a busy and crazy Christmas day.

Do you like the new theme? I'm not sure I do, they made it a pain to figure out how to post! It is different though.

  So, anyway, here is a big gift, you can read it in Multiverse 3 if you haven't already. And yes, it will play a part in Shelby 2 and the greater Federation. When I don't know. (I'm too frazzled to think straight anyway!)
There was initially going to be a very different version. This one is more down to earth I guess you could say. Enjoy and Happy Holidays everyone!

A Christmas Intervention

Carol and her husband Charles scouted the governor Magistrate's mansion one final time. All was in place; none of their hidden spy systems had been found by the small staff. Their ship, the Oliver Twist, had been in orbit of the agro colony in Tau-Bin63a4 for a week, picking up the feed and setting up the virtual world to come based on the real mansion and master bedroom.

They had visited the planet a year before and had put it on the candidate list. Carol had been tempted to push to do an intervention right then and there, but her husband had put her off. Oliver their A.I. had sealed the deal by insisting he needed more time to prepare. Instead, they had left spy devices in the governor's mansion and office when they'd last visited. Reactivating the probes was simple once they'd gotten into orbit. Having Oliver go through the various feeds had taken precious time however. He had much more on his plate than simple surveillance.

She stuffed her hands in her pockets and switched to the office feed. Charles quietly stood beside her, doing the same. They watched Bob try to warm himself and his ink pen but get chased back to his stool. The Bonobo male had fur, but they could see his breath clouding around him.

“He won't even heat the room? He's that much of a tightwad?” Charles murmured.

“Apparently,” Carol murmured.

They watched as a visitor came. Two men tried to get the magistrate to shift funds to help the poor, especially during the recent plague. But the man refused and wheedled them into leaving empty handed.

Before they were fully gone, a familiar face came to the threshold. He stopped his uncle from slamming the door shut in his face and then came in. “What are you doing here?”

“Is it wrong to come see my relative?” Fred asked, eyeing his uncle.

“If you are here for money …”

“No, no, I'm here to invite you to our Christmas party!”

“Are you going to have …?”

A passerby bumped into Charles. He instinctively turned to the side but kept a firm check on his wallet in case the other man was a pickpocket or mugger. But the man only mumbled an apology and kept going.

 The way the governor treated his own kin, let alone his family, burned Carol. "That tears it."

“He rejected them?”

“Was there any doubt? He's so wrapped up …,” She shook her head.

“How is Doc doing?” he asked.

“Better. She reported the plague was responding to her efforts. She's run through a lot of medical supplies though, not to mention medical keys,” Carol replied.

“And she'd run through a lot more or not have any patients to treat if the governor hadn't instituted strict quarantine protocols,” he said.

“Okay, so the ruthless old bastard has that going for him. But he left people who were sick to die. He didn't allow them any support. They either lived or died on their own.”

“Carol, you can't have it both ways. Someone delivering supplies to someone infected with an airborne virus would have become a carrier and passed it on breaking quarantine.”

“I know. It still isn't right,” she grumbled.

“Did she confirm that it was a biological attack?”

“It almost has to be with so many viruses striking at the same time, doesn't it?” Carol demanded.

“Then, should we be doing this at all? Maybe we should come out and help?”

“The vector points to a space-born attack. The natives have noted that in their primitive social media,” Oliver said. “Our coming forward would make them suspicious of our generosity.”

“Nice to hear another voice,” Charles said. “Are you done?”

“Just about. Doc released the counter viruses. Most of the first phase viruses have already passed. The counter viruses will help counter resurgence.”

“Hopefully,” Carol said. “We're still going through with this,” she said firmly. “He was okay with the quarantine, but the man is a bastard. He could have done more.”

“I'm surprised he has a Neo in his office at all,” Charles observed with a shake of his head.

“That's because he's too cheap to hire anyone else. Bob could technically replace him. I suppose it could be that he doesn't want to look like humanity is pushing the Neos out.”

“Possible. The Neoapes were least affected by the plagues,” Charles said with a thoughtful nod. He waited until a couple passed them to continue the conversation. He paused and then his jaw worked when he saw the subject chastise the bonobo for trying to put a brick of compressed coal onto the fire.

"Seen enough?" Carol asked. "If there is anyone more deserving who fits the profile for redemption, it's him," she said.

Charles frowned. She had the degree in psychology, he didn't. He did know that most people didn't change like you wanted. They'd had mixed results with other targets.

"We've got a narrow window to pull this off before we have to pull out. You sure this is worth it?" He asked her, glancing her way.

"Yeah. It fits perfectly," Carol said.

"Okay," Charles replied dubiously. "I have to admit there is a sort of poetic justice about it," he said with a resigned shake of his head. When his wife got that way, it was best to just roll with it.

“So, that's a yes? We're going forward?”

"Not now. Tonight as we planned," Charles warned, “which means we need to get some rest soon.”

"Oh, I know. I'm looking forward to this one," she vowed, picking up her pace.

He nodded. "Okay, lets' do this. I'll give the team the final signal to prep."

"Roger that," she replied with a ready grin. "And don't be such a downer. This'll work."

"We'll see," he said dubiously. A lot had to go right to for them to have any chance of success.

^3^

A half hour after the occupants of the mansion went to bed, Charles and Carol approached the great stone edifice. It was imposing with the stone blocks and big windows and doors. They ignored it, intent on the task at hand.

While Carol kept a lookout, he used the key he had made to open the door. They had used holograms and a bit of handcraft to get a copy of the key. He still had to pick the lock to the master bedroom; Ebenezer never let that one out of his care.

It was a simple matter to infiltrate the governor's mansion, though the creak of the door made Charles pause. The unoiled door hinges were its own alarm in a way. He switched on the ghost hologram once they were inside.

He pulled out his chains and let them clank on the tile floor, most likely waking the guard. The guard snorted awake and looked about himself blearily. Charles made sure to scare the occupant with the first ghost and then Carol stunned them into unconsciousness before they could cry out or flee.

As they moved through the building, they scanned each room to be sure to make it as it was by the time they left. They already had scans of the building to use in the event ahead; they just wanted to make certain their entry was not noted.

^3^

“They are in,” Oliver said over the net link.

Doc sucked in a breath and then nodded. She wanted to go in with the team, but it was too much to try to hump in all the gear they were going to need. Just getting it out again was going to be a pain. She stayed close enough to the rooftop ledge to watch the building but not so close as someone on the street below might see her if they happened to look up.

“Are you ready, Doctor?” Oliver asked.

“As ready as I can be. I know, I'm still tired, I know you are monitoring our vital signs. But I'm good. I can still do this.”

“I understand. Still, I know you are concerned about the subject and your own fatigue blurred reaction time.”

“It is what it is. Carol is right, the psychological impact of this night is too important to waste if we're going to get this right.”

“Okay,” the A.I. replied. “They are about to penetrate the inner sanctum and move to the next step,” Oliver reported.

“Oh goody,” the Doctor murmured.

^3^

Charles managed to infiltrate the old man's room by using his hologram in cloak deception mode. The creak of the massive door's opening and closing were enough to stir the old man. He hastily set up the holo emitters and then waited until the old man stirred. When the clock ticked to midnight and then gonged, he grinned. “Showtime,” he murmured.

When the old man was ready and rousing, he began to set the stage with the first phase. “Cue the chains and moans,” he murmured through his implants.

He heard the sounds of the chains and moans outside the door. The haunting steps coming closer and the liquid nitrogen vapor slipping under the door, coupled with the unearthly light and the ladies shaking the door were enough to get Ebenezer out of bed. The old man griped about being woken and that it had better not be because someone was having sex.

“Who's there?” he demanded when Carol knocked loudly.

“It's me old friend, Jacob Marley,” Oliver said through the audio system outside. Getting the late Neohound's image had been easy; they'd picked it up during the scan of the newspapers. Making a VR avatar had also been simple.

What hadn't been so simple was approximating the voice. They had the vocal structure of a base Neocanine to start with. By utilizing the 3D model of the Neohound, Oliver and Doc had created a virtual larynx and from there their best approximation of the dog's voice.

“No!” the old man denied in fit of panic. He tried to look through the keyhole, but he saw an eye on the other side. That sent him on his rear, skating across the cold wooden floor hastily.

“Ebenezer!” the A.I. said, and then cued the next step. The liquid nitrogen and deep shadows were prefect for the holograms to do their magic. Charles moved into position and saw the form of a ghostly Jacob Marley, Ebenezer's old friend and mentor form around him. Ebenezer's eyes and expression of horror were so comical he almost laughed out of character.

Instead he stuck through his prepared speech, reacting as the old man threw a crock at him by letting it pass through the hologram to shatter against the door.

He even inflated the hologram to terrorize the old man, sending the man further back to cower in fear. “You will be given a chance at redemption. On this night, you will be visited by three ghosts,” he said, going slightly off script. He knew Carol or Oliver would razz him mercilessly for adlibbing about it later when they did a post mission review. So be it.

He opened the door and then paused to remind Ebenezer as the old man went around to his bed to put as much distance between the intruding apparition and himself as possible. “Remember, Ebenezer. Three spirits will come. The first will come at the sound of the gong,” he said, pointing to the clock.

As he kept the subject's attention Carol slipped in under her own cloaking camouflage. She crawled up to the old man's bedside and waited for her husband's exit.

He watched the old man quivering under his duvet for a long moment and then left, making sure to drag the ghostly chains with Oliver's sound effects for good measure. He even got one caught on the door and had to open it to get it unstuck. His bumbling was in character according to his research.

Carol watched her husband's exit and grinned. “Jacob, exit stage, front and center. You're on, Carol,” Oliver murmured through her implants.

She listened to the old man blubber and climb deeper into bed. She rose slowly to her feet but stayed behind the curtain in the deep shadows of his room and the four-poster bed he occupied.

She hefted the stunner after his second look at the clock. When he began to mutter about it being a bad dream, she shot him.

“Got him,” she reported once the old man slumped. She went over and checked his vital signs by placing two fingertips to his carotid artery. “He's out,” she said quietly, easing the subject in his nightgown to lie on his back.

"Okay, ready, phase two," Charles said, entering the room once more. He pulled his bag off and began to set up the equipment as the rest of the team moved in. Carol opened a window and shot a line to the nearby rooftop. She set up a pulley system and then waited as Doc zip lined gear over and then came over herself.

The last time they'd done that they had used antigrav. The high winds had made them miss a load. This time they'd learned to take the added insurance of the guiding zip line.

^3^

The team quickly set up the VR headset system, computers, battery generators, med station, and sleep teaching system. Charles hooked up a wire to the antenna on the roof and then linked Oliver into the network. The A.I. was in the ship, and there would be a bit of a time delay. Oliver was a class two dumb A.I. with a few upgrades.

They had tried to get him upgraded to a smart A.I. before the war, but it hadn't happened in the rush of everything going on. As he watched the feed, the A.I. established himself into the network and brought up programs and bots. “Virtual rooms constructed and loaded. Updating now. Two minutes,” Oliver stated.

Charles nodded silently and turned to the others.

Doc was busy setting up her system on the subject. She began by attaching sensors to his chest, sticking them under his nightshirt. She then pulled additional ones off for his temples, and then switched to hooking up an IV. She took a blood sample and then began to run a quick and dirty blood screen with her equipment.

Charles knew Doc really wanted to use their limited supply of nanites over the old-fashioned medical equipment. And, if they could, do the entire thing in a regen tank on the ship. But, that wasn't going to happen. They were stuck doing the job in the field. Attempting to move the subject to the ship would be noticeable. It would also burn up too much time in transit. They had a narrow window.

“Clock is ticking,” he murmured as a reminder to her.

Doc nodded. “Tox screen is good so far. No surprises. He's had a bit of alcohol, but surveillance knew about that. Not enough to be too much of a problem,” she warned.

“Good to know,” Carol said as she worked on setting up her VR headset and got comfortable on the blanket on the floor.

"Are we really going to do this?" Doc asked.

"Sure, why not?" Carol asked as she paused to look up to the doctor. She needed no external monitoring system since she had implants.

“It's just cruel,” Doc said. “And I think we could find some other way. The drugs to leave in him a suggestive state … and subliminals are involved and …,” she frowned pensively. “He's also old,” she finished, feeling like she was sounding lame.

"It's an intervention. If there was ever a perfect candidate, he's it. He's a tight-ass old bastard. He's a nasty man to be around, but he's not brutal. He's ruthless in business affairs but isn't corrupt. This planet is ripe for a revolution. He's it. I'm for it," Carol said firmly.

"That's because you get to stay in the present. I have to go into the past, and you get to play in the future," Charles growled, eyeing the two women.

Carol snorted. That was a familiar complaint. "Yeah, well, next one we'll switch it up."

“No, we won't. I hate seeing the future you created,” Doc said, making a face. She paused and then looked up with a look of concern.

“I'm serious about this though. He might be ripe in some regards, but I don't like his vital signs. He's got issues with his cardiovascular system too. You are going to stress test him to the line. That could make or break him. I don't want a DOA,” Doc said with a shake of her head.

“Then work on that as you monitor his vital signs. It's up to you to keep him alive, Doc, you know that.”

“Yeah. Easier said than done with this dinosaur. Do they even know what’s to eat around this place?” Doc asked as she continued to hook her equipment up.

“Initial neural map commencing,” the A.I. stated as Doc finished setting up the neural web lattice over the subject's head. “Sync will take some time,” the A.I. warned.

“How much time?” Carol asked, pausing in her task to look up with a frown.

“You will need to run the past section slow. I'll let you know when we're in sync. We'll need him to take the lead.”

“What about prodding? Have you gotten anywhere with his profile and past history?”

“Still working on it. The present is ready. And the future is of course canned. Charles and I already modified it for this subject's world.”

“Great. So, the middle and ending are done, but the beginning, our foundation isn't?”

“You knew that part would be tricky. Run with it,” Charles warned her. “Or do you want to abort?” he asked, eyeing her.

She shook her head and settled her resolve to get the job done. There was no way they were going to back out now.

^3^

With Doc monitoring them, Charles went and checked on the other people in the mansion. He made sure they were comfortable; they were going to get a nice full rest. He was amused by how the guard was snoring with his head back. He eased the old man into a more comfortable position. He checked each of their vital signs before he returned to the governor's suite.

^3^

Carol and the A.I. showed Ebenezer the planet and the Federation's past during its golden age before the Xeno war and fall. A lot of the imagery had been culled from their own ship's database and personal albums. The subject was testy about it all, impatient and not very receptive to the idea that his world could be like that again with the proper guidance and investment.

Carol stubbornly stuck to the program however. The more obstinate the subject was, the more difficult it would be and the harder a shock he would need to break the cycle of bad habits and behaviors he was wallowing in. But she had to get through to him.

Once the basics were laid out, they were ready for the next step. While he had been watching the feed, Oliver and doc had mapped his memory centers. They used electrical and chemical stimulation as well as the neural feed to direct him into his own memories. With a couple hints and some stimulation in the right nerve clusters he took the lead himself. They filled in the blanks as he began to describe them. Fortunately, the architecture hadn't changed much since the old man's youth.

Carol almost felt sorry for the old man as she watched some of the most shaping times of his psychy play out. He was filled with such bitterness! She could see he had once loved as a young man. Was it all due to the spurned love affair? He was also not much to look at, what with the beak of a long-pointed nose, blue lips, red eyes, scraggly hair …

^3^

While Ebenezer was experiencing the history lesson, Oliver was feeding him subliminal sleep teaching about various concepts, as well as ideas on how to create more growth in the economy. They had done similar things with Bob his assistant several days prior. The concepts wouldn't be triggered in that young man until his boss changed his tune and became receptive however.

If it worked, the duo would lead the planet and its population into a new Renaissance. If, was the big thing there though.

Charles watched the feed warily. Based on Doc's readings, Ebenezer was drinking it all in and was fully receptive to Carol's role. That was a relief; he'd wondered about that. Some of the feed was from the intel Oliver had gotten. Unfortunately, the planet lacked computer support, so they'd had to scan newspaper articles into the database in their last visit. That had been a tedious process but one that might pay off.

“Don't get too thrilled,” Oliver said, cutting him off before he opened his mouth fully to say something. “Remember, this is just the first step. The first among many. He can easily trip and fall along the way.”

“Reading my thoughts now?” Charles asked in amusement.

“You're like an open book. And no, not so much your thoughts as your vital signs,” the A.I. replied. “Besides, you've made comments about how well it was working usually around this stage, then cursed yourself for cursing the mission prematurely.”

“So, you decided to cut me off.”

“Pretty much. Gotta go, ticklish bit here,” Oliver replied, disconnecting for the moment.

Charles frowned and then crossed his arms and watched the show. Pretty soon it would be his turn.

^3^

Doc shook her head as she realized the first step was working. She always wondered why the subjects easily accepted the idea of a ghost when they hadn't experienced them. It wasn't quite superstition, at least she didn't think so, though she couldn't rule it out since the civilization had fallen on such hard times.

She had signed on to the yacht since it was a nonprofit and at the time they had been doing a lot of work with helping distressed colonies. Occasionally, they did upgrades and she had greatly enjoyed their time carrying a theater troupe around to introduce the backwaters to more civilized culture and entertainment. It was during that time period that they had all learned about holography and had been introduced to some of the classic plays.

When the war had started, the ship and crew had moved to help with war orphans as well as haul mail and the usual high priority person around if necessary. Their past caught up with them when the Xenos began to destroy worlds; the ship had been given an upgrade to try to pass on more advanced tech to some of the systems they visited in hopes of maintaining civilization.

That had been all well and good, but Carol and Charles were ex-military. Carol had worked in the army psych ops when she had been younger and both of them had wanted to contribute more to the war effort. Too often they'd run into greed and corruption while running around before and during the war.

During a trip through the sector, they'd triggered a hyper mine. It hadn't even been a Xeno one it had been one some stupid civilian had whipped up and dumped in hyper to drive anyone and everyone away. They had been fortunate to do a crash translation as the mine went off; however, the ship hadn't gotten away unscathed. Her hull had been buckled and torn, and she'd suffered a severe fuel leak. They'd been unable to patch the leak until they had gotten out of hyperspace and put a team together to assess the exterior damage.

By that time, they'd lost a majority of their remaining fuel. What they'd had couldn't get them back into hyperspace again, so Carol and Charles had ordered the organic crew into stasis and had set the ship on course to the nearest star system. Like everyone she'd been upset about trying the journey on ballistic with such a low impulse, but they'd had no choice.

It had almost worked too. They'd gotten halfway there when according to Oliver's records he had detected the explosion of the star system's planet. He'd then changed course to another unoccupied star system tripling their time in stasis. By the time they'd gotten to the outer edge of the star system, centuries had passed. He had woken the crew, and they had sucked a nearby comet dry to refuel themselves.

Their hyperdrive and systems had been degraded, but they'd gotten back into hyperspace and made for the nearest known port. And what they had found appalled them. Over six centuries had passed, and the galaxy had been torn apart by the war. What had remained was firmly stuck in the dark ages, filled with Neo pirates and misery.

The fact that anyone had survived was luck in her eyes. Luck and because Tau was such a backwater. They'd tried to help too, at first giving away technology in a naive attempt to get the colonies back on track.

Instead, they had seen their gifts and aide go to waste as the leaders turned to greed and hoarded the treasures for their own comfort and security. The top 1 percent had limited the resources and had strict control of too much.

She closed her eyes briefly in pain at the memory. So much wasted. They had been given replicators since they had been doing government work, plus keys and other tech, but they'd given a lot away in the first two attempts to restart the Federation.

That was when Carol had hit on the idea of switching from the carrot to the stick. Specifically scaring the leaders straight or at least guiding them to where they should be. There were ethical concerns, but Doc didn't care. Carol had been right. And although they'd had some hiccups along the way, they'd gotten the system down now.

They were slowly working their way to the jump to Rho sector, doing loops if they identified a potential target world. They wanted to do as much as they could in Tau before moving on. She knew the others had time shock and issues with survivor's guilt. But, there were times like this when they felt relief from such things.

She heard a soft beep and accessed the subject's vital signs with her implants before she opened her eyes and got back to work.

^3^

Carol prompted Ebenezer, teasing information out of him. It was easy to see what was a lie and what was truth by monitoring his vital signs intently. She was grateful though that Oliver kept the woman's form indistinct, as if the memory was clouded. “Belle,” Ebenezer murmured. She saw the subject's lost look of longing as he looked on to a woman he'd loved and had spurned. “Spirit, take me away, please!” Ebenezer implored, near tears.

That was her signal to let him off the hook and move on to the next phase. She triggered the return sequence. “Remember, Ebenezer, those are the shadows of things that have once been. They cannot be changed. They are what they are, blame me not!” she said and then felt herself being disconnected from the feed as Oliver triggered her avatar's departure animation.

 

Ebenezer stared as he sat in his bed. He could feel it, but the room seemed hollow. He fought the feelings that had been brought forth from his tortured past. “Why, why do they torture me so? And why on this night of nights?” he murmured.

^3^

“Okay, my part is done,” Carol said as she pulled herself out of the VR feed. She watched the virtual Ebenezer on the bed. He was finally coming to grips and settling back in. “Damn! That takes a lot out of you,” she said, sitting back and then flopping to the floor to stare at the ceiling. “Is it just me or is it getting harder to do?”

“We're getting better at it. Adding more detail to ramp up the realism,” Charles said as he looked over to Doc. “How is he?”

Doc frowned but then nodded. “He's stable; the distress is fading. I'm going to give him the hour to settle down and then I'll take my turn. You can monitor him though, right?”

“Yes. Yours is the least stressful anyway,” Charles replied with a shrug.

“He still needs to be monitored,” the doctor scolded. Charles nodded.

“Your electrolytes are low. You need a pep and some rest. You've got the beginnings of a migraine,” she said, turning to Carol and putting an injector to Carol's neck to administer medication. Carol turned her head and elevated her chin to allow it.

“I'll be okay. I may take a nap,” Carol admitted, barely suppressing a yawn.

“Eat something first or you'll have a hangover like last time,” Doc warned.

“Yes, Mom,” Carol joked.

“Don't say I didn't warn you,” Doc said with a shake of her head as she shot Charles a meaningful look. He nodded. He got out the drinks and snacks and handed one to each.

“Oh, all right,” Carol sighed, sitting up and then propping herself up on the edge of the bed to allow herself to drink and nibble.

^3^

At the sound of two bongs announcing the beginning of the second hour past midnight, Oliver triggered the Ghost of Christmas Present's introduction animation into the VR setting. Doc took control of the avatar once it was settled. The A.I. had supplied her script with plenty of material. She moved the subject through the virtual world, showing him live feeds of various people in his life.

He seemed a bit contemptuous of the little people, the peons who were poor but still celebrating the coming holiday. He became interested in the games at his nephew's party but was touched when his nephew held up a toast. “To my uncle Scrooge. I will forever keep trying to invite him to our parties.”

Finally, she switched to the Cratchet household. It was pitiful to see, a shack with a large family. Tiny Tim sat there, and his father gave him his portion of his meager Christmas Eve meal.

Tim was one of the few Neo and alien children to somehow survive the plagues. He hadn't come through unscathed, however; he'd been heavily scarred by the horrifying experience. According to Doc's report, he had a twisted right leg, kidney issues, and respiratory problems. Without her intervention and with the meager diet he was on, she had estimated his chances of making it to puberty let alone to his next birthday as rather bleak.

The Neobonobo looked at the portion and tried to beg off, but his mother quietly smiled and reassured him with a touch. He finally nodded and ate the best he could.

“Spirit, what will become of the boy?” the old man asked, already dreading the answer.

“I fear a shadow will fall upon the lad. He is not long for this world if things do not change,” Doc intoned darkly.

She then went on to the next part, driving the message home about ignorance and want. She hoped silently that he was receptive to her message.

^3^

Carol watched as her husband checked the subject's vital signs and then the perimeter through his implant feed. She loved him; she smiled fondly as he checked everything over. Scaring the leaders straight was her plan. He'd gone with it, following … no, that wasn't right. He didn't quite follow, though sometimes she did need him to follow her lead. No, he was in this her partner, right by her side and she loved him ever more for it.

They had to do something to get the Federation back. Or at least some semblance of order and a restoration of what had once been. Medicine, education, all of that was there, waiting but the descendants who had inherited the dark times were too wrapped up in feeling sorry for themselves and not even trying to dig themselves out. Or, those that were kept getting slapped down by one thing or another.

Well, they couldn't do anything about the pirates that seemed to plague the space lanes in the sector, but they could do something about others. On some stops they provided data, sometimes anonymously. Sometimes they contracted inventors and prompted them. A few times they inspired people by using the teaching system.

But she had found that sometimes the most effective thing was to go to the top. To hit the leadership, to get them to lead by example. And combining that with the other methods they employed increased the odds of success exponentially.

She just hoped some pirate or some other monster didn't come around to make all their work futile.

“She's done,” Charles announced, startling Carol out of her reverie. She blinked and looked over to see Doc coming out of the VR. She went over and checked the woman over.

“I'm fine,” Doc muttered. “My throat is scratchy. I know we use the voice alteration program, but I still try to lower my voice to stay in character. It's a pain,” she said in a hoarse voice.

“Here,” Carol said, passing over a canteen.

“Thanks,” Doc said as she took a sip. “How's the patient?” she asked.

“She seems stable,” Carol said with a grin, making a show of checking the doctor's vital signs.

“I mean the other patient smartass,” Doc grumbled. She smiled ever so slightly at Carol's wit however.

“Doctors do indeed make the worst patients,” Carol said in mock resignation as she looked over to her husband.

“He's stable. A bit distraught but calming down. I can't read his intentions though, it's all coming fast,” Charles warned.

“He might slip into denial, which means we need to make sure we slam it home to him,” Carol said firmly. She knew the other two would try to squirm out. It was best to nip that in the bud. If they just went with the two ghosts, Ebenezer would know something was wrong.

“Okay, okay,” Charles sighed as he came over to them.

“Not so fast. Give him the hour to settle down,” Doc said, trying to push herself up.

“And you the time too I suppose,” Charles said, kneeling at her side.

“Yeah, that too,” Doc admitted, taking another swig from her drink.

^3^

Then it was Charles' turn to show him future with more dark ages, misery, and destroyed worlds. Again, some of it had been culled from their database during the Xeno war. Carol was quick to look away; she couldn't bear to see the broken and shattered worlds, let alone the faces of the people, however long dead they were.

This was a delicate step however; the subject had to be scared straight but not thrown into a depression and give up with the thought that it was inevitable. He had to be convinced through his own will that he could change. They then had to reinforce that. It was a tricky procedure.

“Sometimes I wonder if we should have gone the other route. Scare them and then show them what they could do,” Doc said. “This seems cruel.”

“You've got to be cruel to wake them up. Humans have a thing about negative memories making a more lasting impression in their neurology than positive ones. It is a filter. Don't do this or you'll get hurt.”

“The burned hand. Yes, I know of it.”

“How is tiny Tim by the way?” Carol asked, looking over to Doc during a momentary lull. She needed the distraction.

“Better. I did a scan during my visit and did what I could for the lad. He'll make a recovery soon. I'm going to give him another dose of medicine soon.”

“Ah.”

“I installed the medpack in him. We're down to two more left in inventory,” Doc warned. “The nanites will be released to make the major repairs tomorrow. I wish you'd let me do it tonight. It's always better now.”

“No. Let it reaffirm the old man's wish to care for the boy to anchor him,” Carol said with a shake of her head.

“We're talking about a little boy's life here, Carol,” Doc scolded.

“And weighing that against the rest of the boys and girls on the planet if this works as it should,” Carol said in rejoinder as the subject's vital signs hit a bump. “What's that?” she asked, pointing to the scope.

“The first big “oh shit” of the night,” Doc said, getting to work prepping gear. “Nothing ever goes as planned, least of all when we're in this phase. I hate it.”

“We've got to scare them straight, Doc. You know that the carrot doesn't work with everyone,” Carol said as alarms began to go off. “Charles, trouble. Wrap it up!” she said urgently, touching her ear and looking at the feed.

“What miserable wretch is buried here, spirit?” Ebenezer asked in a quavering voice.

“Why you are, Ebenezer!” Charles said, playing the role as he cackled in a bass voice, and Ebenezer was pushed into the burial pit and then hellfire sprang up around him. He immediately began to beg and plead, promising he'd change.

“I'm on it. We're at the last bit now,” Charles replied. Carol glanced at the vid feed. They were in the cemetery. The idea of being buried and forgotten while his soul roasted in hell was getting to the subject.

“If he was healthier, I'd go with the feelings of being eaten alive, like with Xeno nanites,” she said as the subject twisted and writhed in the bed and then began to drool. He suddenly shuddered and went still.

“Frack. Cardio … I knew it! Heart Attack! I'm busy here. Lend a hand?” Doc said as her hands began to flash with fast but precise movements as she administered medication and triggered equipment.

Charles pulled out aghast just as Ebenezer flatlined. “Frack. What did we do?” he demanded.

“Clear!” Doc said, triggering an electrical pulse into the subject's heart tissue. She had to do it three more times, each time upping the amperage until he convulsed and then settled into a stable heart rhythm.

“Okay, we've got him going again. He's had a minor hiccup,” she said. “I'm giving him more nanites now,” she warned.

Carol bit her lip at the expense. Nanites were impossible to come by in the fallen times. Once they were gone, they were gone for good.

“It's just a minor heart attack,” Charles said, voice rough from projecting like he had. He took out a drinking canteen and took a sip then screwed the lid back on and put it away. “You're on top of it though, right, Doc?”

“Yeah. I got it covered but only barely,” the doctor said with a shake of her head.

“That was a close one,” Oliver said over the link.

“I was going to do a minor tune-up before we left. But now …,” Doc's hands moved. She was clearly on top of the problem. She flushed the patient's system to clear out the plaque in his arteries and made repairs on the fly. She even added a pacemaker.

They stared at her until his systems set up a normal rhythm. After a few minutes, they even showed signs of improvement.

“Okay, he's stable,” Doc said, sitting back on the edge of the bed. Despite the cool chamber, she was sweating profusely from the intense sudden work out to save the man's life.

“Good, that scared the dickens out of me,” Carol said with a giggle of relief.

Charles leveled a look on her. “Not funny, dear. I find that hard to believe, I really do,” Charles said with a shake of his head, but his lips quivered in a suppressed smile.

Doc snorted.

Carol smiled and patted her husband's shoulder and then gave it a squeeze.

“Will this happen again, Doc? I don't want this to undo our hard work. Or sideline him,” Charles asked, concerned that their night’s work could be undone in a moment of stress. The man had a lot to do.

“I cleaned his systems out and gave him the best overhaul I could with what I've got for time and gear,” Doc reported. “Based on that and the food and stuff they've got here, I estimate he'll live another two or more years. How long I can't guarantee of course. He could get hit by a truck or slip and break his neck,” Doc said with a shake of her head.

“Yeah, Murphy always has to be involved somehow,” Charles muttered.

“Shh, don't say things like that!” Carol scolded, slapping him on the shoulder.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“Serves you right if he kicks your ass. I just don't want to be along for the ride,” she grumbled.

He snorted. “Too late. You already had your chance to bail, remember, wife?” he asked with a smile.

She stared at him but then slowly smiled as well.

Doc cleared her throat, breaking their look. “It's too soon to celebrate. He could write this all off as a dream, remember?”

“Okay. Time for Phase 4. Time to pack up and bug out before the roosters crow,” Carol said. She stretched and yawned. “The others will wake soon.”

“Right,” Charles agreed as they got to work packing up. They had to be sure to leave everything as close to the way it was when they first entered as possible.

^3^

A few hours later the couple was watching anxiously from across the street for signs of life. They finally got it on their implant feeds when the old man began to stir in his bed. Carol was the first to stiffen when the subject stirred. He didn't quite wake though; the light of the dawning day hadn't penetrated his windows.

“I knew we should have opened the shutters,” she muttered.

“He would have noticed any changes,” Charles said.

“The wait is killing me.”

“Anticipation can be fun. Have patience dear,” he said, kissing her hair and hugging her to help with the cold. They had modern cold weather gear under their camouflage of woolen coats, but it didn't quite stop the bite to their exposed hands and heads.

Charles had a more pragmatic approach to waiting. The planet didn't have popcorn to eat while they waited and watched but they did have vendors selling food. When a passing hot nut vendor came by he stopped her and ordered a couple bags. He paid for them and then silently handed one to his tired wife.

“What?”

“It's not quite the proper breakfast but it's something to nibble on while we wait,” he said as she went from blowing into her hands to combat the cold and to look like they were playing the right role to clutching the hot bag.

“Oh, hot!” she said in wide eyed appreciation.

“Good,” he said, eating one of the nuts carefully.

“Long night,” she mumbled.

“Yeah,” Charles mumbled, trying not to itch. They had to blend in, which meant native period dress too, with the long drabby woolen coats. The snow and bitter cold made it hard to endure standing there. “You know we can get the same feed from the warmth of the shuttle or ship, right?” he asked teasingly.

“Yeah, I know,” she said, eyes still on the window and their implant feeds. He saw her stiffen as the governor stumbled to the window and then threw up the sash and flung the shutters open. He looked around and then down to a passing lad. “You there! Boy! What day is this?”

“Why, tis the giving day!” the boy said, pausing in confusion. “Christmas,” he offered.

“Then I'm in time,” the subject said eagerly, bouncing about. “Here, here,” he said, reaching in and pulling out a bag of coins. “Go and get the grandest meal you can. The biggest bird and have it delivered to the Cratchet residence. The rest you can keep for yourself, lad!” he cackled.

The boy caught the bag and stared at its contents. “Yes, sir!” he said with a wide-eyed grin as he took off.

“Hopefully, he doesn't just keep it,” Charles murmured, leaning in to breathe the statement into Carol's ear and hair.

“Don't curse us I said,” she scolded, but her eyes were shining. “It worked,” She murmured.

“Too soon to tell,” he murmured, but the old man came bustling out of the home in a coat and top hat, still in his nightgown and slippers. He had bags of money with him though and his cane and was rushing off gleefully. “But, you could be right,” he said.

“I'm right. You know it. You just don't want to admit it,” she said, knowing he was teasing her.

He smiled. “Of course, he could catch hypothermia or pneumonia going out like that.”

“Yeah, not good. But it worked,” Carol replied with a grin as she moved deeper into his arms.

“What possessed you to do this? Oh, his name?” Charles asked, thinking about it. “Scrooge?”

“It does give a bit of sense of poetic justice to things, doesn't it? I thought about it, I wondered if the gods of space were involved, having a joke at our expense. It gets better when you factor in our last name. I think we gave the people here a good Christmas gift,” Carol said, stealing a few of his nuts as she looked about them. He started to protest but sighed in resignation when she smiled up impishly to him in challenge. “To be honest though, I got the idea because of our last name," she said as she popped the first nut into her mouth. “I told you, the scare program works the best,” she said before she began to chew the nut.

"What is the end game? What do you hope to accomplish? What did you stick in his subliminals this time?" Charles asked as she popped a nut into her mouth and chewed it. She chewed and swallowed, looking thoughtful as they turned and began to walk to the spaceport.

"You of all people should know the drill, honey. I wanted to inspire him to help his people, not rob them of their heritage. He's good at what he does; we just needed to temper his greed and give him a mission other than getting as much money as he could,” she answered.

“The one with the most money when they die just dies rich. They are still dead. Is that what you mean?”

“Pretty much,” she said.

“I don't know. He's a bit old to change. And we have no back up.”

“Oh, it'll work,” she vowed.

" …Or our last name is not Dickens," Charles said as his wife smiled at him and rubbed her nose tip against his. “Merry Christmas, babe,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers as he drank in her scent and felt her returning wave of love.

“Best Christmas gift ever,” she said with an answering grin.