DISCLAMER: All characters belong to Paramount Studios and Bellasarius productions. Used without permission but with lots of respect!
Another Stitch In Time
Chapter Two
Project Quantum Leap
Stallions Gate, NM
June 18, 2001
10:45hrs
Ever since Tom had rushed out of the command center twenty minutes ago, just after the captain had checked in, Sammy-Jo had sat in the command chair staring at the blank screen. Around her, the military technicians were whispering about her silent state since that poor lieutenant had lost his life.
"She's just in shock; that could have been her."
"She was supposed to go in, but the General talked her out of it."
"Ice queen, that's what she is."
But Gushie and Tina both stayed silent. They had worked with her long enough to know that when she became motionless like this, that her thought processes were working in overdrive. They knew that soon enough she would come back to the world with at least two theories on what had happened in the Accelerator.
Gushie quickly typed in a sequence that would send a copy of the sensor logs into Ziggy's memory. He was determined to keep her updated on all developments until they could rebuild her and bring her back online. He didn't really care what others said,; Ziggy was as much a person to everyone at PQL as anyone else. There were times when she seemed even more human than most of the people he'd known over the years. He looked over to the memory banks again and sighed.
"Hey you," Tina said softly, touching his hand.
Gushie shrugged and smiled wanly. "Yeah, I know."
Tina grinned back at him. "So stop worryin', already!"
He chuckled softly. "Can't help it, dear."
Tina leaned over towards him and whispered in his ear, "Well, layta I'll give ya sometin' else ta think about."
Gushie had to restrain himself to keep from laughing out loud.
"Gushie?" he heard Sammy call softly to him.
He turned in his seat and saw the familiar glassy look in her eyes. "Yes, Dr. Fuller?"
"Can you hook me up a graphical and numerical interface into the main systems, please?" she asked softly.
Gushie nodded and motioned to Tina who smiled brightly. Together, they set up a side-by-side keyboard and graphics grid by each of her hands in under five minutes and set the cables into the main consoles. Sammy's fingers began to fly across them at an amazing pace, causing a series of numbers and letter equations to flash across the main screen. Gushie watched intently as bits and pieces of programming code intermingled with the complex quantum equations until the whole thing coalesced into a fully interactive graphic of the anomaly in the Accelerator. The graphic was quickly allocated to it's own small box in one corner of the screen and then again code and equations dominated the screen.
The whole command center grew quiet as Gushie and Tina isolated the first program, set it into permanent memory, and kept up with Sammy's typed queries for data from the memory banks. The three of them worked in silence for nearly thirty minutes until four graphics dominated each corner of the screen, and a complex series of equations ran continuously through the middle. When Gushie finally registered that there were no new data requests coming in, he turned in his seat.
Sammy was leaned back in the command chair with a pained look on her face and a hand on her injured shoulder.
"Dr. Fuller?" he asked her. "You want me to get you something for the pain?"
Sammy shook her head and said softly, "No, it's not that bad. At least I have something that tells me I'm alive."
"And that would be?" a voice asked from the doorway to the command center.
Gushie jumped. "Captain Bonnick? What are you doing here?" the programmer asked. "We thought you were at the hospital this morning."
Jim leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe, his arms crossed in front of him,. "I was, but I came here to give you some good news,; and from the looks of things, you guys need to hear some."
"Al?" Sammy asked as she spun her chair around to face him.
Jim grinned broadly. "He came out of his coma about an hour ago."
"Do you know what time, exactly?" Sammy asked him earnestly.
Gushie looked at her, curious as to why she would ask such a question.
Jim frowned,. "I dunno exactly; why?"
Sammy looked like she was ready to leap out of her chair and shake the information out of him. "It's very important, Jim; please!"
"Well, let me see Max came running into Donna's room at about twenty after ten, so I guess it was about five minutes or so before that," Jim said thoughtfully. "Now, would you please tell me why? You've got that look in your eye, y'know the one you usually have just before you tell us something big."
"I knew it! I knew it!" Sammy practically crowed. "It all makes sense now!"
"What?!" Tina asked, exasperated.
Sammy grinned,. "Space and time, my dear Tina, space and time."
--
Chambers of the Committee
Washington, DC
June 26, 2001
10:55hrs
"So, General Beckett, in your opinion, do you think that these so-called 'Technomancers' pose a threat to our National Security?" Senator Wietzman asked.
Tom sighed. He didn't know how Al ever got through these meetings without popping Wietzman one. "Unknown at the moment, sir. However, I believe that, potentially, they may be one of the greatest threats we've ever faced."
The room grew silent as the implications of Tom's statement sank in. Then Wietzman chuckled softly.
"So let me get this straight, General. You're saying that there's a group of computer aided sorcerers in some 'alternate universe' that are trying to not only take over the country but the entire world through Project Quantum Leap. Have I summed it up accurately?" Wietzman scoffed.
"Senator, I know it sounds unbelievable, but," Tom started to reply.
"Unbelievable?!? It's beyond unbelievable; it's entered the realm of bad science fiction!" Wietzman roared,. "Do you have even one scrap of evidence to prove this?"
"We managed to recover the security video recorded during the Dalton Michaels takeover attempt, Senator." Tom clenched his hands in order to keep from shouting himself.
"May I remind you that one man does not make a conspiracy? Can you prove that he came from this 'alternate universe' General?"
"Senator, the tape clearly shows how Michaels left." Damn! Why does this blowhard have to be so difficult? Tom thought to himself.
"Ah, yes, the tape. Let's discuss the tape, shall we? At no point in this tape are the words 'alternate universe' or 'Technomancer' ever mentioned! And as for how this 'Dalton Michaels' left, well my grandson could generate better special effects on his home computer."
"Senator Wietzman," Senator McBride spoke up, "we are not here to discuss the merits of cinematography, but to determine whether or not to grant the 1.2 billion dollars it will take to rebuild Project Quantum Leap. Kindly stay on the topic at hand."
"General Beckett," Senator McBride continued, "if we grant funding, how long do you estimate it would take to effect repairs? I seem to recall that it took Dr. Beckett a good three years to complete level ten."
Tom looked down at his notes. "According to Dr. Fuller and Drs. Conelf, approximately two months."
Wietzman's eyebrows raised in shock. "Two months? I don't see how you could do it in that time."
Tom grinned. "Well, Senators, after Dalton Michael's aborted attempt at destroying the Accelerator, the command staff formulated a backup plan in case something similar happened again." Tom pulled out a file from the pile on the table and handed it to the clerk, who handed it to McBride. "All of the main computer's core programs were backed up on secondary systems not housed on that level, and fortunately they came through the explosion intact. In addition, we have the schematics that Dr. Beckett left behind of the Accelerator and Imaging Chambers to work from. With that, and a double crew working around the clock, they estimate that they should be ready to contact Dr. Beckett and Commander Connelly in approximately two months."
"And just who is this Commander Connelly, General?" Wietzman asked. "Has anyone actually seen or met her?"
"Well, Admiral Calavicci has had contact with her through the Imaging Chamber, Senator."
"So you say. There's still no actual proof that she even exists, is there?"
"Senator," Tom bristled, "If you're asking whether I trust Admiral Calavicci's word or not, then the answer is yes, Senator, I do."
"Humph!" Wietzman glowered from his chair.
"General Beckett, the committee is not doubting the Admiral's verity," Senator McBride reassured with a stern glance at Wietzman. "However, returning to the matter at hand, judging from these damage reports it's still going to be a lot of work. And I see here that you plan improvements to the Imaging Chamber?"
"Yes, Ma'am. While creating this backup plan, we conferred with Commander Connelly's computer Zadam. He helped Dr. Fuller's team formulate some new programs and microchips based on some of his universe's technology, which is quite ahead of our own." He riffled through the file and held up a diagram. "Also, Zadam shared with us the schematic of a new power generator that will give the Project it's own energy source." He grinned. "So, when we need some extra power we won't have to brown out any cities."
"Power generator?"
"Yes, Ma'am. The power generator was apparently a recent accomplishment in their universe. Totally non-polluting and self-perpetuating." Tom had to raise his voice to be heard over the susurrus of the Senators whispering to each other. "The two computers shared a lot of information in the three and half weeks they were linked together. Dr. Conelf is still sifting through it all, but if he can get it to work, I think we just may have a new generation of technology that will benefit the entire world."
Senator McBride banged the gavel for order. "Senators, please!"
The panel once again fell silent. Tom surreptitiously tugged at the collar of his uniform jacket and hoped this wouldn't go on much longer.
"You say the computers were exchanging information for over three weeks, General?" Wietzman asked archly. "It seems to me that the Project's own computer is a greater threat to National Security than the Technomancers are."
Tom looked at Wietzman sharply. "If anything, Senator, we seem to have come out ahead of the deal."
"Oh really? And I imagine that the Technomancer High Council feels the same way?" Wietzman smirked.
How did he? Tom wondered. Unless An ugly thought began to take form in his mind.
"The point is, Senator," Tom leaned over and rummaged around in his briefcase, "that we have an advantage over them."
"Which is, General?" Senator Bartlett asked.
"That, one-on-one, we can beat any technomancer they throw at us." Tom pulled a small gray device out and palmed it into his pocket as he pulled out another file. "When I said earlier that Technomancers may pose a serious threat, I was speaking of them as a group. As you saw on the security video, a single one such as this Dalton Michaels doesn't pose too serious a threat to us."
Tom paused, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Wietzman who was turning an angry shade of red. "Admiral Calavicci was able to send him home with his tail between his legs," continued Tom.
"Not without help he wasn't!" Wietzman barked. "Without Connelly's interference, the Project would look even worse than it does now!"
As Tom's suspicion edged its way to a certainty, he had to fight back the urge to play his hand too soon. He had to make sure he gave Wietzman enough rope to hang himself with. He surreptitiously took the device out of his pocket and hid it in his hand.
"I sincerely doubt that. From what I could see, Michaels was strictly a third rate operative. He wouldn't have lasted three minutes against real soldiers instead of scientists. In fact, the only reason he lasted as long as he did with scientists is because he managed that little parlor trick of appearing to be someone else." Tom said flippantly.
Wietzman stood up so quickly he knocked his chair over. Tom pressed a button on the side of the device. Lights flashed across its top and it started beeping wildly. Tom grinned as all the color drained out of Wietzman's face when he realized he'd been tricked.
"General," Senator McBride asked, "what's the meaning of this?"
"The meaning, Madame Chairwoman, is that you have a fox in the hen house. That's not Senator Wietzman, but a Technomancer in disguise." Tom smirked. "A Technomancer by the name of Dalton Michaels, if I'm not mistaken."
"Dalton Michaels?!? But that's," Senator McBride exclaimed, shaken.
"The same piece of" Tom stopped himself just in time. "As in the Dalton Michaels in the security video? That's right," Tom replied. "And this little beauty is just one of the pieces of technology that was shared with us." He glared at the horrified looking Wietzman. "After Dalton Michaels infiltrated the complex by impersonating Matthews, Zadam gave them the design of this. It picks up the trace signals of Technomancer implants."
Wietzman bolted for the door to the Senator's entrance to the Chamber.
"Stop him!" Tom roared.
Just as Wietzman reached the door, two burly Marines came barreling through it. As each Marine grabbed a wrist, a red glow flared out from Wietzman, instantly incinerating the Marines. A third Marine was coming in through the same door, but at the sight of his comrades in two piles of ashes, he stopped and drew his weapon. Wietzman reacted quickly, spinning around and running back the way he came. With the agility of a much younger man, he vaulted over the Committee table and ran for the other exit.
As the pseudo-Wietzman raced past Tom's table, Tom stretched out his arm, clotheslining the Technomancer. As Michaels fell to the floor, gasping, Tom pounced on him and started pummeling him mercilessly. " and this one, you bastard, is for screwing up the Accelerator so badly that I lost one of my men " Tom hit him again. "And that one is for me, for making me have to wear this damn dress uniform and come to this circus." Tom gave him a solid punch in the jaw. "And THAT is for my little brother, who is who-knows-where thanks to you!"
Two Marines pulled Tom off the bloodied and now revealed Michaels. Tom blinked back his rage in surprise at seeing the very proof Michaels had been demanding.
Michaels glared up at him and gave an evil smile. "You haven't seen the last of me, Beckett! We'll meet again, I promise."
There was a blinding flash of red light and the space where Michaels had been was now vacant.
"I'm looking forward to it, you putz!" Tom growled as he straightened his uniform. He turned back to the still shaken Committee. "Senators, as you can see, the Technomancer threat is very real. Commander Connelly, the staff of Project Quantum Leap, and my brother, Dr. Beckett, have the knowledge and skills to remove this threat to our nation and our universe. If you refuse our request and discontinue the Project, not only would you be stranding two good people on the winds of time, but you would also be playing right into the hands of the Technomancers. Grant us the funding to make repairs to PQL and I can guarantee that we can eliminate the threat." Tom leveled a stern gaze at each of them. "Senators, they're afraid of us. That's why they sent Michaels,; to kill the Project and leave us defenseless."
Senator McBride conferred briefly with her colleagues and then spoke. "General, we agree with your position that the threat is very real" Tom started to open his mouth to thank her, but she raised her hand to interrupt him. "However," she continued, "the security risk is too high for this matter to be decided at this level."
"But," Tom began, only to be interrupted again.
"We are going to have to defer the final decision as to the disposition of the Project and the level of military involvement in it to the Joint Chiefs and the President. Meanwhile, we will release the funds to begin repairs to the Project. Our recommendation will be that you are to retain command and oversee the rebuilding until such time as Admiral Calavicci is sufficiently recovered. We trust that you will follow any security precautions that may be ordered, and will share any technological information pertaining to our defense against the Technomancers."
As Tom began packing up his things, Senator McBride asked, "Oh, and General?"
Tom looked up. "Yes, Senator?"
"You wouldn't by any chance have any more of those useful little devices, would you?" she asked. "I, for one, would sleep better having one."
--
Military Hospital
Holloway Air Force Base
Alamogordo, NM
July 3, 2001
13:17hrs
Maxine slipped quietly into her father's hospital room. They had told her at the nursing station that he'd fallen back into unconsciousness about two hours ago, but she didn't care. For once, she could have time alone with him.
She sat carefully down in the chair next to his bed and took his hand in hers, frowning as she realized at how thin it felt. "Dad, it's me, Max," she said softly. She studied his face for a moment, hoping for some sign that he heard her. She grimaced at how much older he seemed now. His face was drawn and pale, with tubes coming from his nose and arms. He looked like an old man. She knew that he wasn't young, but he had never seemed old before.
She remembered how strong his grip had been, and how she had always felt safe in his arms. She would give anything to hear his voice or smell one of his disgusting Kigali cigars again. Maxine fought back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her.
"Daddy," her voice broke slightly. "Dammit, would you just wake up already? Please?"
She sighed and leaned against the rail of his bed. "Y'know," she said, "it's bad enough you missed my graduation, but to leave me in the clutches of Janet, Ruth, and Sharon for a month just wasn't fair! Do you know what Sharon did this morning? Not only did she throw out my favorite pair of jeans -- you remember the ones you helped me iron all those patches onto? -- but she also said I couldn't take the Ferrari today! I mean, you taught me to drive it an' everything, and now she says I can't!"
She sat back in the chair and wiped the tears from her face,. "It just ain't fair! She won't even let me go out with my friends past eleven o'clock. Can you believe it, she gave me a curfew! You always told me to be home by one at the latest! What does she think I am? Twelve?!" She slumped in the chair, grateful for the chance to do it without hearing Janet telling her to sit up straight. "Then there's Kevin, he came over yesterday to visit me and what does Janet do? She grills him like he was under investigation for murder! I doubt he'll ever talk to me again, let alone" She stopped abruptly when one of the monitors gave a loud beep. "Uh, Dad?"
Maxine looked at him hopefully. "Dad, are you waking up? Please be waking up!"
An idea came to her and she grinned. "You know, Daddy, there's this big bush bash that the senior class is holding for one last big blast before we all head off to college." She leaned closer to his ear. "Kevin will definitely be there. I should be able to, ah, persuade him to give me a more personal send off."
"Over my dead body," she heard him whisper.
"Daddy!" Maxine threw her arms around him. "Geez Louise, you're hard to wake up! But I'm glad you did."
His arm came around her shoulder and he held her to him. Maxine smiled and snuggled into him.
"What was this about a send off?" he asked slowly. "And who the hell is Kevin?"
Maxine blushed. "Uh well y'see, Dad it's like this"
His chuckle rumbled pleasantly under her ear. "I know, kiddo, I know."
"I've missed you, Dad," she sighed.
"What'd ya throw?" he joked weakly. "How long?"
Maxine wiped tears from her eyes. "A month or so."
"A month? You sure?" his voice sounded slurred.
Maxine sat up and looked at him, she gasped when she saw his eyes. Little blue-white sparkles danced across his eyes.
"Uh, Dad? Are you feelin' okay?" she asked, worried.
"Just tired, is all," he replied, his voice starting to slur badly now. "I just don't feel like I'm totally awake yet."
Maxine reached over and pressed the button for the nurse. "You sure?"
"I'm okay, Sam," he sighed. "Just that stupid neighbor of mine sleeps all day and works on his bike all night"
Maxine looked at him in surprise. "Sam? Daddy, it's me, Maxine!"
Her father shook his head wonderingly, the sparkles in his eyes growing more intense. "Maxine?"
"Yes, Daddy." She clutched onto his hand. Her heart pounded in her chest. "You're in the hospital. There was an accident at the Project and something exploded."
"Hey kid," he started to mumble.
A nurse came into the room at that point and looked questioningly at Maxine.
"He's awake but there's something wrong!" Maxine sobbed. "Get a doctor, now!"
The nurse took one look at the mumbling Admiral and at the glow emanating from his eyes and took off out of the room at a run.
"Daddy! Please!" she pleaded with him. "Oh please, oh please! Don't be dyin'! Please don't die!"
Maxine sat there, holding his hand, watching the glow around him intensify while listening to snatches of conversations he appeared to be having with people. She caught Sam Beckett's name several times, and then a woman named Reika, her mother, Tina, Gushie, and then the oddest thing; he started talking to women who he thought were his wives by the same names as herself and her sisters!
The doctors and a whole host of nurses came barreling into the room. Maxine found herself shoved roughly to the doorway while they gathered over him.
"His blood pressure is through the roof, doctor!" she heard one of the nurses say.
"God, look at his heart rate. If it keeps up like that," someone else said.
Maxine shifted nervously, trying to see better. "Is he going to be okay?" she asked.
"What the hell is that glow?" one of the doctors muttered. "Don't touch him! You don't know what'll happen!"
Maxine could see the glow even through the wall of doctors now. "Daddy!" she shrieked, gripped with terror that something really bad was happening.
"Oh my god!" the doctor suddenly yelped. "Everybody out! Now!"
All of the doctors and nurses suddenly started to run out of the room, leaving her father alone in the room. Maxine struggled desperately to keep her place by the doorway, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening to her father, as one of the nurses tried to drag her away.
"Daddy!" she shrieked again. "Oh God, Daddy!" She rounded on the nurse and cried, "Dammit, do something! You can't leave him in there alone!"
"Ms. Calavicci, it's for your own safety," the doctor started to say.
"I don't care!" she growled and took a swing at the nurse who had a hold of her arm. The nurse let go out of reflex and Maxine ran back into the room. "Daddy!"
The glow around him was so intense now that she had to squint to be able to see him. He looked like he was in terrible pain as his body twisted and contorted on the bed. She didn't know what was happening to her father but she wasn't about to let him go through it alone! She reached through the glow and caught one of his hands in hers.
"Daddy, it's me Max, I'm here with you," she said to him, tears running down her face. "I love you, Daddy."
There was a sudden flash of blinding light and each of the machines that he was hooked into exploded at the same time. Maxine ducked but a piece of metal caught her across the cheek leaving behind a fiery line of pain. She blinked several times to clear the spots and the tears that obscured her vision, trying desperately to see what had happened to her father.
"Daddy?" she asked, her vision clearing. He came slowly into focus, lying so still on the bed. "Daddy?"
He wasn't breathing! Maxine's heart flip-flopped in her chest as she reached out a trembling hand to find the pulse on his neck and felt nothing.
"Daddy!!" she shrieked, "Don't you dare die! Don't you leave me, Daddy!"
Her years of Girl Scout first aid courses came flooding back to her as she hopped onto the bed and began CPR. Okay, breathe once, and one, two, three, four, five! Breathe again, and one, two, three, four, five! Come on, Daddy, you're not going to die! We need you! All of us; Janet, Sharon, Ruthie, me, even Donna, Tina, Gushie, and all of them at the Project! After five repetitions she felt at his neck again and groaned when there still wasn't a pulse. She continued. Dammit, Dad! You promised me you would walk me down the aisle at my wedding!
"Please, Daddy!" she sobbed, "Live!"
Suddenly someone was pulling her off of him. "Ms. Calavicci!"
"NO!" she shrieked.
"Ms. Calavicci! He's alive!"
