Act One, Scene Two

[a magical taco]

The new evidence, this picture has me thinking. If these women really are from my clan I may know someone who can tell me more about them. A priest. He is a well respect man among my clan and if anyone knows who this mystery woman is it would be him.

"I was thinking much the same thing Doctor and I think I may have a way to get some answers. If anyone knew her it should be Father Douglas McLeod. I would like for you all to stay in case this communication reveals any answers to our current questions."

With no objections the Captain sat in his chair.

"Computer, open up a subspace link to Father Douglas McLeod located Edinburgh Scotland"

After a moment a man appears on the screen. I recognize him immediately as the man I am looking for. "Hello?" his voice is rough but pleasent.

"Father McLeod, I'm Captain Jackson Campbell of the USS Thunderchild and Member of both the Black Watch and Clan Campbell. I was hoping you might be able to help me?"

His old face looked as if he was thinking a bit then all of a sudden he brightened up in to a smile. "Oh my goodness. Blessed by our Father. It's you Jackie ole boy. How have you been m'boy. It's been so long since I have heard from you."

"My apologize Father, I know it has been a while since I've called the church. I will make a better effort in the future. Unfortunately, I am not calling for pleasure or spiritual guidance, I need to identify the woman in this picture"

Pressing a few buttons on the computer's panel and the picture is sent, I can hear several quick beeps through the monitor that tells me it has arrived.

He laughs, "Call son? Its been what, eighteen, twenty years since I last saw you. Oh lad, you used to get in to so much trouble." he looked at the picture. "Oh them? you mean the MacConnell sisters?" he added as he leaned back in his chair. "I remember how you and the older girl, oh what was her name. Maura! Yes I am sure of it. How you two used to always get in trouble. Lad they still talk about how you two used those holoprojectors and copied old man Grant's sheep." He laughed as he finished, "Oh it took him what a whole day to figure out which were his sheep and which were made up of holograms." he kept laughing, "I remember when they caught the Las, and tried to make her give you up. Sure everyone suspected you, but she never gave you up. Four days she sat in that cellar till her foster parents finally gave up."

"That one loved ya lad, it was shame you moved away. I really...." he started to cough again. It seemed to be worse but after a while he finally regained his composure. "Oh my boy, the years haven't been kind to this old priest. The Our Father came down and claimed my beloved Kenina two years ago. I am grateful that she was taken in her sleep."

He thought a moment, "Oh I am sorry, a busy starship captain like you doesn't have time to listen to me ramble." he looked at the pictures once more, "So lad, what did you wish to know about the MacConnell sisters that you didn't already know?"

"Father, are you sure you have the correct Jackie, I don't recall that at all. Not the getting in trouble or the sisters. What was Maura's sister's name anyways?"

The old priest laughed, "You are Ken and Selina's Jackson. Right?" he paused a moment for the captain to nod. "Here give me a second." The old rose from his chair and hobbled over to a book shelf behind him. He ran his finger over the books till he found one. "Ah here it is," he said as he pulled out the book and returned to the monitor. He started to flip through the pages of the photo album. "I Baptized you when you were just a babe. I remember your mother cried when the water washed over you. She was so proud." He said sure of himself.

He pulled out a picture, "Here you go lad" he said as she scanned the image and sent it over to the Thunderchild via subspace. The image is without a doubt. Within the image set three children upon a large rock near a river. Two of the children, a boy and a girl, were clearly early teens. They were holding hands and the boy was smiling so shyly and the girl was blushing. The third child was sitting between them. This child was a younger smaller female. Jackson recognized himself in the image. "That was taken the summer before you moved to Mars. Oh, and her name, that one there, the younger one. Her name is Seònaid. But she always preferred Seona. It was at a youth retreat. It was the last one Seona would be allowed to attend."

He smiled as if he had just won a chess game. "Now tell me, lad. Do you question the memory of this old priest." The smile on his face showed that he still had a lot more playing left in him. Sadly, with the revelation of her name came more questions. There was a chance to uncover more of who this Seona really was.

I return his smile, sincerely. He is hard to dislike, "Thank you for this" I say as I lean back in my chair and try to remember anything about what the old priest is saying. I don't remember the sisters, nothing at all. My fist time on Earth wasn't until after I graduated from Starfleet. I was never much of a trouble maker, my parent may have loved me but they are renowned scientists, if I was caught misbehaving they would have had me survey every plant in the local atrium or writing a report on foreign metals from a distant star system. And my mother, she always knew when I had done something wrong, her position on the President's Council for Scientific Research made her into a human lie detector, it made me sharp as a knife for sure but she was a surgeons scalpel compared to most. I've been quiet too long, "Father, why was Seona not allowed to come back to camp, did Maura ever go back?"

His smile faded, "That son was somewhat of a mystery to me. It wasn't long after Seona' turned ten there was a big dispute. Sure they claimed it had to do with you and Maura being caught out in the woods. But you two weren't doing anything wrong. I told them it was natural for two young lovers to be kissing and all. That was all you two were doing. But have been around the block for just over a hundred years lad. This had nothing to do with that. Seona was sent to live with other foster parents in the village of Torridon. Maura wouldn't see her sister again. A few months after that, you showed up at the church with plans to reunite Maura and her sister. It would appear that you two kept in close contact after the move. The grand plan was that the three of you would run away and live together. Lad, you two were just teenagers."

He lowered his head as he signed, "I am sorry I had to contact your parents. Your mother was fit to be tied when they showed up."

He looked up once more, "I know loosing you broke her heart and being separated from her little sister was making it all worse. She would spend much of her time here at the church. I don't think she wanted to be at home because it reminded her what wasn't there anymore. I looked out for her till she ran off to join Starfleet."He paused as he thought.

"I would travel to see Seona each spring to continue her education in religion and philosophy. I would run letters back and further but I don't think that helped much. You lad, I didn't see you till after you graduated from the Academy. I had hoped that you and Maura would have met back up. You know, seeing how you two were at the Academy during the same time. Sadly, you seemed to have moved on with your life. When Maura returned from Academy for a family reunion, she seemed so hurt. The death of love, Lad, that is the worse feeling of all things."

"What do you remember of my plan to reunite Maura and Seona, Father?" Keep him talking, it's all I can think of right now because none of this makes any sense. The MacConnell sisters are from my clan and they seem to have a stronger connection with the Father than I do, perhaps he is helping the sisters, lying for them, playing a game to trying to confuse me or to have me removed from this assignment.

He shook his head and smiled a bit, "Lad, that was it. Maura loved her sister as much as she loved you. You loved Maura back. I truly believe that in your hearts, you thought that together the three of you would do just fine." He paused a moment before talking, "I know that Seona and Maura were exchanging letters twice a year. See the sisters both spoke prefect Scottish Gaelic. I taught them the language of their ancestors a couple years after their parents were killed. It seemed to bring them together." He rubbed his chin, "I am sorry rambling again."

He looked down with sadness, "Not that any of this matters, Maura is gone. They didn't even have a body to bury. I know that she was not Catholic, but even her own believes had certain rights that had to be preformed. I did my best for Maura but with out a body, I couldn't do her justice."

He looked up from his desk, "tell me Lad, what is all this about?"

The revelation that the sisters spoke Scottish Gaelic continues to make this conversation even more confusing. It is a language that Jackson had been able to speak for as long as he could remember. Yet neither of his parents knew a word of this ancient language. Up until this point he figured the father was lying or mistaken, even with the picture as evidence. But now Jackson was not so sure. 'The three of us being able to speak the same language is definitely interesting turn of events' Jackson thought to himself. And then added to his thoughts, 'but if I really did know them why can I not remember any of this?'

"father, did you also teach me to speak Scottish Gaelic?"

The old priest shook his head, "No lad, I didn't teach it to you. Though the amount of time that you and Maura spent together, I thought she taught it to you. After all Lad, you two had a strange knack for learning things quickly. I remember when Father Seòsaid Kelly taught you two how to play three dimensional chess. Oh the Good Father, God bless his resting soul, was a great chess player. After a year though, the two of you were beating him on a regular basis. It got him so mad that he quit playing either of you. The only match you had, Lad, was Maura. You two would spend hours in my office playing each other to draws."

He looked up as if thinking about something, "I remember suggesting to both of your parents to have you two compete in the Federation Chess Competition. Neither of them would have it, saying your studies were more important."

"I do love a good game of chess." I smile at the old man and lean forward, "Father, what about Seona? didn't she learn chess with us?

The Father nodded, "aye, I do believe so lad. The wee las was like a puppy to you two. From the day she could walk she follower you two about. You took her under your wings as if she was you own sister. I guess you felt bad for her seeing how their birth parents were killed. I really don't know much of the what happened. They were brought to our community from the city. Your parents and their foster parents were very close so it made sense that you three got close also."

He looked sad, "It had its tests from time to time. The last big test was when Seona's sister tried to sue for custody of her little sister. I remember it quite well. It was right after Maura graduated from the Marine Academy. It was rough going for everyone involved. Even some members of the Clan were split on this. Your mother flew in from Mars to talk to Maura about the case. I remember seeing Maura leave after that meeting. She was in tears and left. I found out that she dropped the custody suite and returned to the Marines."

What Jackson was learning was heartbreaking to say the least. More troubling was the fact that he still had no memory of this event. After a moment to take in what was said, Jackson finally asked, "what else did she like to do?"

"She loved that violin I gave her when she turned nine. It was an old thing I found at a thrift store and reconditioned it for her. She loved playing it. Even made some hologram videos of herself playing. The only kid I know that could program complex hologram programs. She really is a brilliant woman."

Jackson could help but interrupt, "Do you have some of those holograms?"

The old father looked strangely back at Jackson, "Its strange that you ask that. I have a set of recordings that she left for you." He worked his hands over the controls of his computer, "I will send the entire package to you."

This confused Jackson even more but he waited for the download to finish while he asked another question, "you said that you keep in contact with her. When was the last time you spoke to her?"

The father nodded as he spoke, "aye yes lad, We would speak regularly. That was still a couple years ago. I didn't know if she was a life or dead. Then came her funeral. I was heart broken. But without warning, she showed up in the middle of the night at the church. Jackie ol boy, all the time I have known her. I have never seen her this scared before. She had a nasty wound on her back from a energy weapon of some kind. I wanted to call the authorities but she begged me not to" he paused a bit before continuing.

He cleared her throat before going on, "She said she was in trouble and needed help to get off world. When I asked her what kind of trouble she was in, she told me it was best I didn't know. I trust her and treated her like my own daughter. So I helped book her passage off world. A few days after she left the town was visited by a pair of Starfleet Officers. They said they were from Starfleet Intelligence but acted like a pair of thugs. They asked everyone all kinds of questions about some Petty Officer. They said that she was wanted for murder. But I knew they were lying. I knew Seona would never murder someone. It just isn't her, boy."

This conversation was really adding more twists to the situation than Jackson cared to admit. But he had to know the truth, "do you know where she ended up?"

The old priest shook his head, "after she left here I tried to follow her but her trail went cold. I guess those two Intelligent Officers lost her trail too cause they returned a few days after that and threatened me. They questioned me for hours. I didn't have anything to give them. Seona is a smart girl, lad, she knows how to not be found. Hide and seek was her favorite game. She used to keep you two searching for her for hours. When I demanded my attorney they let me go and it was the last time I saw them.

Jackson believed what the old priest was saying but wanted to make sure. "I would really love to get in contact with her, any ideas how I could do that?"

Once more the priest shook his head, "lad if I knew I would have helped your rude friends from Starfleet Intelligence. But Seona won't give me any details about what was going on, other than someone was out to kill her. She wouldn't tell me who that person was. Only that he was powerful and untouchable. I am sorry lad, she didn't tell me anything of her plans or where she was going. All she did ask of me was to give you that package. I can't tell you how she knew you would call but she said sometime in the future you would be calling on me. She made me promise to answer any question you had as truthfully as possible."

Jackson looked at the file as the transfer completed. There were five holoprograms within the data stream. The title line read simply, I know my life is over, please don't forget who I was before it all changed. To his surprise the line was in Scottish Gaelic. Jackson finally asked, "she knew I would call?"

"Aye lad, I don't know how. But she was for sure you would call" the priest replied.

It was what he had expected. After all why make the plans if she didn't expect him to call. "Any guesses as to who was after her?"

The priest leaned back in his chair and sighed, "No lad, I don't know. But I have to tell you this, who ever it is can instill fear in her. She said that she hadn't slept in five days and had been on the run from 'them' since she escaped. I asked her where she escaped from but she wouldn't tell me. She passed out before she even finished her soup. I treated her wounds while she slept. She was really beaten up. Someone had pushed her to her limits and was not letting up."

Jackson thought of changing the subject a bit, "do you know what my mother said to Maura?"

"Aye, I do" he said. "Before Maura left I asked her what was said. Maura told me that your mother said she could have Seona committed to a mental institution if Maura didn't drop the case. Further more, Maura had to break off all contact with Seona. It was the reason why I helped Seona get away from her foster parents. I am the one who secured her false identity." He smiled as he rubbed his head, "Even criminals need God's forgiveness every once in a while."

Jackson perked up, "False Identity? Can you give me a name?"

He nodded, "She made me promise lad, Seònaid Melville. But I am surprised you don't know already. I told those two Starfleet Officers this also. You guys should learn to communicate more"

This troubled Jackson a lot, "do you remember the names of the intelligence offices?"

"Aye lad, Smith and Jones" he said firmly.

Jackson didn't even bother to push that. It was clear that they were fake names. He did ask, "what kinds of questions did they ask?"

"At first it was the normal questions. Then when I told them her name. They pushed me for more information about her military training and what she did. I didn't know anything about that. We only talked about personal things. But they wanted to know if she would betray the Federation. I laughed off the question, its Seona lad. She loves the Federation. She loves Starfleet. It saved her from her foster parents.

Jackson nodded and found the situation growing more complex, "where did she learn this level of programming?"

The old priest laughed, "lad, she had the best teachers money can buy. Mostly hologram teachers. But still the best. She wasn't allowed to attend regular school. Come to think about it, I don't think she had many friends once she moved to Torridon. The Estate she lived on was massive. But I don't recall her talking about friends at all."

Jackson thought for a moment than asked, "Why were things so bad with the foster parents?"

"I don't think it was the actually foster parents themselves. After all, everyone treated the sisters very well. I think it was more the illness. You see lad, the two of you were always being seen by Doctors. Maura and you that is. I think you two had the same condition as the same doctors saw both of you. I guess that is what drew you three together" the priest explained. He took a deep breath as he thought a bit.

"I guess I should explain from the beginning. Each month you and your parents would take trips in to Edinburgh to be seen by a specialist doctor for your condition. Your mother and father worked hard to find a cure for your genetic disorder. I remember when everyone found out. You were never suppose to have survived your first year. But you have always been a fighter. I think they call it, Krussk Syndrome. It attacks the mental and nervous system. But I would talk to your mother about it. From what I understand it infects one and three million humans. Now lad, that is the will of God. Two children infected with this very rare illness only miles apart. You and Maura were meant to be together."

He paused a moment then continued, "When their parents passed away, the sisters were moved here and stayed with Doctor Volante and his wife. They were personal friends of your parents. During the first few years they lived here, Maura seemed to get sicker while you were getting better. But after a while the treatment was starting to work for her too. But with the girls' immune system weakened, it was best to keep them away from other people. This was why they were not allowed to attend school. Your mother devoted most of her life here to finding a treatment for the illness."

"I remember one time, Maura had a relapse. I was called in just in case to give the girl last rights. I remember seeing little Seona in the corner crying. Your father was so angry that he threatened to take Seona back to Edinburgh. By morning, the relapse passed as did the anger between your father and mother. I wont pretend to know what the entire situation was about but I know the emotions between them over Maura's condition ran deep. A few months after that was when the treatment really started to take hold and soon Maura didn't need further treatments."

"When you moved away, Maura remained with Doctor Volante's family. Seona was moved to Torridon. A small coastal village up the coast. She stay at an estate own and operated by Starfleet Medical. I think your mother knew the man that ran the estate there. He took Seona in as his own daughter. It was really a very nice place. Everyone there loved Seona and she was treated so nice there. But she was always so alone. She missed you and her sister. I never understood why it was important to keep the sisters apart lad. I don't think I have much more to offer you lad. Tell me, is it true? Is Starfleet hunting Seona down? If so, why?"

"I'm afraid at this point there isn't much I can tell you, we are still just piecing thing together ourselves, but you have been a tremendous help, father. I will be sure to let you know if we do find her."

He coughed more but got it under control. "Lad, if you find her. I don't want you to forget that she is a good girl. For as long as I have known her, she has never willingly hurt another being. I don't buy these claims that she killed anyone and you shouldn't either. Lad you act like she never existed before. But she remembers you like the older brother you are to her." He coughed even more, "I have to go. Be well Jackie ol boy."

The transmission ends and with the call over I find myself feeling the weight of the ship on my shoulders. Began to feel it as soon as the senior staff fell silent and waited for my orders but with the answers the Priest provided, suddenly I feel weighed down. It's strange not to have someone else calling the shots but there isn't any turning back now.