Dr. Pritchard's Soul Search

It seemed like yesterday that Artemis and Cadbury were putting the finishing touches on the Cold Fusion Laser. It was as if he had fallen asleep, and when he woke up, he was stranded in a place where the reality he had grown up to accept was gone forever. He had traveled through dimensions, fought against temporal enemies, and even contradicted events that he had put into motion, things that Artemis never would have guessed that he would even attempt within his lifetime.

Artemis accepted that this would be the new order of his life, and looked forward to the many other adventures he would have. But for now, he needed to get his lab back online.

The water in the Innovative Sciences Department was knee high. Artemis sloshed through, the water soaking through the ugly brown cloak he had been given by his counterpart. The weight of the soaked cloak dragged him down into the water. "What the hell? Damnit!" Artemis yelled. "Surprise!" Holly announced. "What? You flooded the lab?" "No, I melted the ice! Surprise!" "Holly, did it occur to you to drain the labs once the ice was melted?" "Uh....." "No, it didn't. Ugh, whatever, it's the thought that counts. Thank you Holly" The computer was dumbfounded, Artemis actually thanked him, even after flooding his lab. "Are you okay Artie?" Artemis looked up at the computer screen and sighed. "I....it's hard to explain, but let's say that my perspective has been....changed" The door to the lab slid open, a rush of water carried test tubes paper past him. Artemis threw the emergency drain switch and waited for the water to pour out of his lab. He looked over the lab, dozens of memories came back to him from his time before the accident. He hadn't been the model scientist, or citizen, or human being for that matter, back in the day. Artemis regretted being so reclusive and cold back before the accident. It bothered him to ponder what the people he left behind thought of him. His parents, siblings, colleagues, and even people he only met in passing. He could picture the history textbook article written about him. "Brilliant, but grossly incompetent and psychotic. Responsible for the Q-Bomb, but also the Charon Incident and numerous infractions of Space Corps law. Lost aboard the JMC Blue Dwarf when it went missing in....." There was nothing he could do about that. But he could try to make an impact on those that were still around.

Artemis pulled his JMC science jumpsuit out of his locker and stared at it. He then tossed it into a garbage bin with the others and pulled his labcoat out. He was done with the jumpsuits, he wanted a friendlier and more professional appearance. He donned dress slacks, a button up shirt, loafers, and a tie, along with the signature labcoat. Just before returning to the lab, he lit the JMC jumpsuits on fire.

Smoke billowed from the locker room adjacent from the lab. Artemis ignored it as he took inventory. Much of his equipment was destroyed, but a good assortment had survived. Research and development would be sheer hell, construction was still feasible, there was more than enough scrap in Blue Dwarf. The chemistry stations survived which left a wide array of future experiments in the open. The robotics station was too waterlogged, however, Artemis still had the codes for the robotics bay (that the robotics chief had forgotten to take back from him after Artemis upgraded the OS). His office was intact, the door was shut and most of the room had been spared in both the blast and subsequent flood. Everything else was missing, and Artemis didn't have a master list to run off anymore, so even if they had the oppurtunity, he would never be able to completely restock his lab. He had worked with less though, and this time, he was doing this for himself (and the greater good of the group, or whatever....) so he would finally find some happiness in his work. With inventory out of the way, Artemis could begin making repairs. But before that could happen, he needed to do one last thing....

Venus clawed her way out of the stasis container and scrambled to the top of a nearby shelf. The reptilian falcon perched at the edge and examined the unfamiliar lab she had been introduced to. Next, Samantha the tub grown budgie carefully climbed out over the edge of the container and started grooming herself. Then there was Jules the chain smoking lab rat. Artemis had to help the rat out of the stasis container, and proceeded to light him up, or he would hear it for the next ten hours. Finally, there was the cat sized and cat brained tarantula Patches, who climbed onto Artemis' shoulder and proceeded to purr softly. With his pets back in the picture, Artemis planned to re-start his uber-pets project, using the current four as a control group (Plus, they were good company). Artemis herded the animals into cages and moved them into a warmer area of the lab until he could prepare a designated area for them. Once he was sure they were safe Artemis picked up his tool box when the intercom crackled to life....

<snip>
"This is Doctor Black, I am pleased to announce that Captain Chrysler is in full recovery. He will be fine...Cass retrieved the cure from Brittany, at the price Cass returned with her. We... We will be getting her back somehow."
<snip/>

Artemis didn't really care much for Cass, considering that their first encounter had been nothing but a constant argument. However, he never felt so challenged before. Nobody had ever been able to match him in a battle of wits, more or less convince him to change his mind once he was already decided. He wasn't sure if he wanted to help in the rescue, but then he thought we're all in this together. That selfless one tenth of Artemis' soul was right, even though he hated Cass she needed his help. So when the time came, he would join the others. But for now, he had a lab to attend to. Maybe once he could perform adequate R & D Artemis would be able to help the crew find a way to find her.

OOC-Sorry if that came out a little fragmented and weird, I'm tired as hell.