Welcome to Hel

[Jack Ryder]

"Lass... look around ye, there are plenty of 'wombs with a view'. Although..." Jack said as he gave her a look over his shoulder as he finished construction on a small device that he was working on. "If y'really want a child, I am technically royalty m'self. Long story." he used a torch to finish a final connection and closed up a hastily constructed casing. "There... " he activated it and smiled. "Now I feel like I can get to work properly." he scanned Ashley and mused. "You are still fertile, yet I think you'd be of far more use to me without that mask." he pointed his multi-tool at the latch and it popped open. "You're a Brit, so yes... sonic screwdriver, I've taken to calling this the JackTool. Like Jack of All Trades and well... my name is Jack. Bunch of my mates in college were huge bloody Whovians, figured out how to make a workin' version of this. Then I found out that TARDIS technology is real and based on some old Siofran technology, which is a sort of off shoot to El-Aurian. Professor Data told us of a story once where they found his head in old San Francisco and also met up with a younger version of their bartender. Of course, what that bartender didn't really say is, she didn't exactly spend the past 300 years the long way around, oh no no no... she had a pod. Much like the one I am hoping my wife figures out how to bring here." he walked over to a bank of cloning tanks and scanned them. "In the meantime... " he pulled off the tattered shirt he was wearing and programmed the replicator to make him a new one and a couple of lab coats. "If Dominus wants clones... he's going to get clones. But not in the way he was thinking."

[Ashley Walker]

"You do bloody talk a lot don't you? I don't want a child, but it seemed like a viable alternative to your friend. I know I'm going to regret this, but what do you have in mind?"

[Jack Ryder]

"Sorry, bad habit when I'm nervous and formulating a plan. I have to pretty much get my ideas out so I remember them." Jack said with a half smile. "I'm going to set up a batch of clones that will be loyal to us by default." he went over to a unit that held a number of incubation matrixes. "My counterpart cloned by brother in law, remarkably quick and I wondered how he did it." he picked up a small round device. "This is an incubation matrix, put in the basic building blocks for the one you need to clone, like say, if I were to clone you. Small bit of DNA, some RNA from your brain, painlessly transported out. Mixed in with the other raw materials contained in the matrix, boom... we have a fetus. Combined with this localized time-dilation field tech that clearly based on what I am very used to working with. Full formed clone ready in days. Direct neural education system." he pointed to a helmet looking device. "Basic knowledge, how to eat, speak, function as a human being. Or..." he pointed to the surgical suite. "Remove the brain and stem of someone that's original body failed and replace it with one from the tanks. Jackson gave them the humiliating term of 'slugs', the body until it had a functional brain and could operate independently" he shook his head and frowned. "It's vile technology but a good scientist uses what's at his disposal. I'm going to clone the three of us. This is sort of a long term plan. I'm pretty sure it's going to take more than a week for any rescue party to get here. Worst case scenario, we'll have a back up in case something happens to us. Best case, the clones act as our decoys and help us to get as many people free as possible. We'll also grow some that aren't us, but the ones that are 'us' will be given what they need to pull this insane plan off."

[Ashley Walker]

"I did my residency under Dr. Luković. He specialized in genetic memory. We couldn't do it on a humanoid subject as that was banned, but the computer models were exceedingly promising. We were able to modify the language center of a chimpanzee and utilize genetic memory to imprint American Sign Language. Jasper had a vocabulary of about 1,000 signs. Anyway, the point is, we should be able to program your clones in several ways that could be beneficial to your cause. "

[Jack Ryder]

"Oh you'll love what this process can do." Jack said as he downloaded the specs to a padd. "This is so bloody illegal yet... fascinatin' at the same time. I've been trying to get some of this legalized, imagine what we could do for dementia patients or those who've had severe brain trauma? After all, I can only 'mind dump' so much telepathically." he tapped his forehead. "I am entirely shocked that my counterpart didn't draft you himself. You could have been helpful to him. Although he had a far bigger ego than I have. Didn't exactly play well with others."

[Ashley Walker]

"If you could upload language, and basic math into genetic memory there's no telling what would happen to humanity if they already have a 5-10 year head start in learning at birth."

[Jack Ryder]

"Why do you think I'm so smart?" Jack said with a wink. "Dad's an augment, I was learning language and 'basic's pretty much in vitro. Said my first words around 9 months old. My children... much the same way, and they inherited mine and my wife's telepathic ability as well. Incredibly smart children, but they also don't flaunt it. Which amuses me to now end. Now... my counterpart's daughter, whom we took in as our own... she was about four and was hacking computers and basically 'learning' telepathically. Figured out how to by pass command codes by basically taking the knowledge from my sister's mind. Jackson never taught her how to use her abilities ethically. Of course, there are times when necessity outweighs it." he looked her in the eye and sent a massive dump of information on the equipment. "And now I have given you a mild headache and a four year degree in cloning. Headache will pass in a few moments because your mind will forget the strain."

[Ashley Walker]

"Oh bloody hell!" She exclaimed. "You could've warned me. But, that's fascinating. I can't believe how out of date I am in cloning and genetics."

[Jack Ryder]

"We all were decades out of date compared to what they had in Dominus home reality. Ethics didn't really matter." Jack replied as he leaned against a work table. "I am not at all happy about this but I'm trying to make the best of a bad situation. If you were about a decade younger, you'd probably have been one of the girls I did homework for in exchange for lab time. I took a lot of courses, audited the ones that didn't keep interest." he looked around the lab. "I want to keep you and Kirby close here, last woman that I cared about that Dominus got his hands on, he raped and branded her all over her body. Took my counterpart actually cloning tissue to repair the damage, but she's got 'D's on her bones. Won't see that happen to either of you."

[Ashley Walker]

"No, you wouldn't have," she said. "I am smart enough to do it myself, and to know that having someone else do your homework for you doesn't teach you anything. As far as me; well, my raping days are long gone. He has long ago lost interest in me. But, like I said I'm smart. He likes the meals I cook for him, and with my medical training I can patch up his toys for the next round, which I help deaden the pain so the torture is... well, less torture. I have lived here longer than almost anyone. I'm on borrowed time, and I don't deserve anything more. Dominus is a monster, but so am I. I don't deserve any different fate that that of Dominus. I am his accomplice, slave or no. So, when he comes to kill me you don't bloody interfere." She slapped him at his impending objection. "You stay alive. Betray me, murder me, do nothing. Whatever it takes stay alive."