A TANGLED WEB Part 8: Endgame
Chapter 12
by Charlie Nelson a.k.a. Ordinaryguy2
Updated AuThOr'S NoTeS: 1-23-2022
In the first part of the story, I am going to be referring to elements from the book series Ringworld. It is not necessary to have read the books as I explained the parts very clearly below. As for the reason I have include them in this story, that explanation is in my original notes at the bottom of this chapter. To explain it now would give some spoilers. Also, in the second part of this chapter, someone who you thought was dead turns out to be only mostly dead! And I just had a thought. With as many characters as I have dying in this story, if I was to add The Walking Dead to this crossover, things could really get gruesome. But I won't because I am not really into the whole zombie thing. That said, there is one zombie fanfiction that I tried that turned out to be extremely well done. It's called Polarity and is written by Chris Myers. It's focused on three Spider-Man villains trying to get clear of a Romero-style zombie outbreak and has a lot of guest stars.
The main crossovers in this chapter include: ALF (1986-1990); ARK II (1976-1979); Critters (1986); Dark Angel (2000-2002); Kaz the Minotaur (1990); Land of the Lost (1974-1976); Lost in Space (1965-1968); The Prisoner (1967-1968); Red Dwarf (1988-1993, 1997, 1999, 2009, 2012); Ringworld (1970); Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980); The Terminator (1984); Thunder in Paradise (1994); Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968)
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The area around the long-buried ARK II had been pretty cleared of muck. They had worked diligently and were taking a break from the hot sun, indulging in the food and water gathered by Cha-Ka and Will, which consisted mostly of roots, berries, a few bananas, three large reptile eggs and a couple of footlong lizards. The Cat, disgusted at the fare, took one of the lizards and snubbed the rest of the fare.
Nearby, the man known only as Number Six stood guard with the enigmatic woman called Max over the scowling form of the Spider-Woman who they had managed to capture of their attackers.
The Jupiter II Robot and Kryten approached the weary people who were resting in the shade of the nearby trees.
Kryten began their report. "We have restored some of the archaic footage from the ARK II. It explains some of what has happened here but much still remains a mystery."
"The ARK II comes from a parallel Earth where pollution and nuclear war had devastated the environment by the mid twenty-first century," said the Jupiter II robot. "Three people – two men, Jonah and Samuel, and a woman, Ruth, – were sent out by a surviving group of scientists along with an augmented, intelligent chimpanzee named Adam." He turned and extended one of his arms to the old decrepit shell. "They used this all-terrain vehicle to discover the extent of the devastation to the land and find survivors in order to help rebuild civilization. According to their video journals they had been doing that for over a decade before arriving here."
"That's all good and fine," snapped Dr. Smith who was eating one of the bananas. "But how did they get here?"
"That information is not included in what we recovered, sir," answered Kryten. "However, things allude to those events and explain quite a bit more."
Alf threw a rock at a loud tree frog several yards away but missed. "Does it really matter to us? I mean, it's just an old rusted out RV. What are we going to do with it?"
"It Ark." Cha-Ka looked at everyone as if that explained everything.
The Cat stood up and did a little swirl on his toes. "I'm with aardvark-nose on this one. That thing isn't even fit to be a litter box."
"Perhaps if you listen to the recording, you will learn something for a change," said the robot. Behind him, Dr. Smith chuckled, enjoying someone else getting a shot of the verbal barbs from the robot.
The Cat was indignant. "Did the bubble-headed doohickey just dis me?"
Will Robinson stood up to be peacemaker. "Robot, Kryten, why don't you please just show us what you found? And would someone please dangle the long string for Cat again?"
"Very well, sir." Kryten turned to an unoccupied space and emitted a holographic projection ten feet away through his open mouth. Meanwhile, Lister picked up a long string which was actually a long piece of webbing from the Spider-Woman's earlier attack and dangled it much to the Cat's delight.
The color wasn't the best and at times the picture or sound seemed to fade or crackle but it seemed to work. A dark-haired beautiful woman of possible Asian descent, most likely Ruth, was speaking to them. On her lap sat a graying chimpanzee nibbling a strawberry that was as large as his head.
"-been here eight days in this enigmatic land. We still have no idea where we are. Samuel has suggested…" She shook her head as if she couldn't believe what she was about to say. "It sounds impossible, but we might have been thrown back in time. We have scanned the atmosphere repeatedly. There is little trace of pollutants and no trace of radioactivity or seismic activity. Plus, this morning we encountered a mammoth and a giant sloth. Both species have been extinct for millions of years by our reckoning. And yet-" The projection ended.
"That was helpful!" snorted the sarcastic Arnold Rimmer with folded arms.
"There's more," said Kryten and began playing the next restored recording segment.
"ARK II log, entry number 7453815. Jonah speaking. We have been in this new land 28 days now." The speaker was a blonde well-built man with a beard that was starting to gray. "The answers we get only seem to create more questions for us. The Altrusians have determined to leave us alone for now. It was only luck that got us into their good graces. They aren't very big on caring for others. They know little of charity or kindness. Besides, they have bigger concerns than us. I think that they –"
That clip ended and Kryten continued to the next recovered footage.
The woman that was most likely Ruth was back giving a report. "-the pylons. The crystals inside seemed to somehow control the sun, weather, gravity and perhaps more. We've learned -" She paused and started to sob. "We may be inside some type of pocket universe or something that has been built by someone or something for some purpose we can't even guess. We just want to go home! Why are we being kept here?" Someone off screen called to her and she turned off the recorder.
The recording started again with a different man in the screen who seemed to be of European and Hispanic descent.
"This is Samuel. I am recording ARK II log number 7453864. Day 59 in this crazy land. Wow. Seems longer than that. Met the Pakuni again. Their matriarch seemed to like me. We exchanged food gifts and an assortment of other presents. We are still working on the language barrier. I think that is what the matriarch likes most about us. We present interesting mental challenges for her like learning our language and our customs. She's in love with the Rubik's Cube we gave her. We still haven't found Jonah, but the Pakuni have volunteered to help. I'm worried that-"
It ended.
Dr. Smith looked down at Cha-Ka as if studying an unusual specimen. "So, the females of your species run everything. I suppose that explains some of your behavior."
Cha-Ka scratched his head, confused. "Female?"
Will Robinson patted Cha-Ka on the shoulder. "He's talking about the female Pakuni, Cha-Ka. Like your mother."
"No female Pakuni. Cha-Ka's mother last. Died when Cha-Ka very small."
"Then you are the last of your kind," said Will, in surprise.
Alf placed a hand on Cha-Ka's other shoulder. "Not to worry, kid. I'm in the same boat that you are. We'll get through it together, okay?"
Cha-Ka, not understanding the full ramifications of what was being said, nodded with a grin.
Rimmer, who had always had a fascination with alien life, at least the myth of it, coughed politely. "Um, so what did happen to your people?" he asked Alf.
"Oh, you know the scenario. Planet blows up and the last surviving alien rockets to Earth where he/she/it becomes adopted into the family that finds them."
"I think I kinda understand," said Lister. "Where I'm from I'm the last Human alive."
"Seems to be a lot of that going around, Lister," said Rimmer. "You should feel right at home here."
"Smeg off, Rimmer!" retorted Lister.
"On that note, I think we should continue with viewing the recording." Kryten then opened his mouth to resume holo-projecting.
Ruth, looking ill, was there again in mid-conversation.
"-have become more complicated. The Altrusians have found a number of their people murdered. And since we and the Pakuni are both new to this land, we are being blamed. Also, I can't deny it any longer. I'm pregnant. I just wish I could have told Jonah before he disappeared." She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair to get it away from her eyes. "Adam has disappeared, too. Poor chimp. He's either lost or eaten by some horrible beast out there." She turned and threw up into a container while managing to hold her hair back. She gasped. "Sorry about that. One of the glorious perks of being pregnant. Being constantly nauseous. Ugh. Samuel is out scouting with R.J. Spencer. I don't know if we can trust R.J., but I don't know if we can afford not to. Tomorrow we will be close to the stone house he has built, and we will get to meet his daughter, Jessica and his associate, Kaz who R.J. claims is a real minotaur. I feel I'll be able to trust Mr. Spencer more when I see his teenage daughter. As for the minotaur thing… well, they say seeing is believing so-"
Samuel was back on the screen. He looked tired and in need of a shave. "-day 76 in this land. We have been scouring the land looking for signs of either Jonah or Adam. I took the Jet Jumper out for most of the day yesterday. We won't be able to use it for any great distances until we can manufacture more fuel for it. R.J. and Kaz have been gathering supplies for a long hike on the mountain trails. I'll be taking Ruth and Jessica for a drive in the lower valley in the Ark Roamer. Hopefully this will yield something positive." A noise caused him to look out a window where shouting could be heard, and he chuckled. "Sometimes we wonder who is more bullheaded – R.J. or Kaz?" He shook his head and turned back to the camera. His thoughts seemed to sober him. "Ruth has grown attached to Jessica very quickly. I'm glad. She needs someone she can focus her attention on. And I'm glad she has another female to talk with. She is-"
The image on the screen changed, and now there were two women. One was Ruth and the young teenager was evidently Jessica. Both looked terrified.
"Something killed Samuel while he was on guard duty during the night. R.J. went to help and is now in critical condition. Whatever it was it was just outside the ARK II when it attacked, waking us up. Then a second intruder attacked the thing that killed Samuel." She paused and the two females hugged for comfort. "Both creatures seemed to be the same species; one much larger than the other one. They had tough looking exoskeletons, a bony beak and large ball-like joints that made it almost look oddly comical. The shorter one seemed to be the aggressor and the larger one beat it back ferociously. Both wanted to kill each other. Finally, the younger one retreated. The larger one turned to us sniffing. Then it quickly entered the ARK II using Samuel's key and carried a wounded R.J. in and treated him with the medical supplies. Somehow it knew where everything was."
She paused in thought. "We didn't dare go near it and it didn't look or speak to us. As soon as it finished setting R.J.'s bones, stitching closed the gashes, injecting antibiotics and a few painkillers, it turned and left. Tomorrow, after Kaz gets back from his hunting trip, I'm going to ask the Altrusians what these creatures are. Maybe it is what has been killing their people. Maybe it already killed Jonah." She reached to turn off the recorder with a trembling hand.
"What is this? A monster movie?" demanded the Cat. He had started watching the video when Lister stopping holding up the string of webbing. "It's not very good and I've got no popcorn."
"There is more," said the robot. "Much will be made clear."
"Then show it already," demanded Alf. "But I gotta tell you right now, Alfred Hitchcock this is not."
The projection began again as Ruth moved away from where she had turned it on and then moved to the side of the small room which was almost off-camera to cower with Jessica, who could be heard whimpering. Ruth aimed a flare gun at the nearby door. The door shuddered and was forced open. A small, hairless, beaked figure hurried in and then paused to regard them. "Be not afraid. I mean you no harm."
"Who are you?" shrieked Ruth, who was close to absolute terror. The flare gun shook considerable in her hands, but she kept it pointed at the creature in front of her.
The intruder cocked its head slightly to the left as it regarded her. "Though I have changed, you knew me as Adam."
Disbelief crossed Ruth's face, while confusion was on Jessica's. Rimmer leaned close to Lister. "Who's Adam?"
Annoyed, Lister whispered back. "He was the monkey."
"Monkeys can talk?" exclaimed Rimmer. Everyone shushed him.
The beaked creature seemed to chortle. "After all you have seen here, can you really doubt the possibility?"
Ruth shook her head in disbelief. "But how?" She kept the flare gun pointed in front of her.
"I will explain what I can. It is not necessary to keep it a secret." The leathery plated creature found a place to sit near the door so that he could see anything coming to enter the room. "This land is designed to periodically bring other life forms to this place to see how they would interact. The Altrusians were among the earliest to be brought here and they thrived. A few months before we were brought here on the ARK II, the Pakuni arrived. Various Pakuni groups had arrived on Earth after being brought by their Pak Protectors as an effort to save them from the eventual death of the worlds they inhabited. One of these groups, along with its Pak Protector, was randomly brought here."
"I've meet the Pakuni," spoke Jessica. "They were nice to us. But I never heard mention of a Pak Protector."
"A Pak Protector is what I have become," said the mutated chimp. "The Pakuni are a species that come from the center of the universe where the stars are more closely packed together which also results in more mutations and evolutional changes in their species. Some grew intelligent, some were only as intelligent as animals. Some were herbivores, some were carnivores, some were omnivores, while still others just ate whatever dead creatures they could find. In general, the Pak people had become as diverse as the many types of insects found on Earth. The Pak people have three stages of development: Child, Breeder and Protector. The first two, Child and Breeder, I'm sure you understand. The third stage of development, the Protector, is the most crucial for a species survival."
Jessica and Ruth glanced at each other, unsure of what to think or ask.
Adam continued. "When a Breeder reaches the end of its cycle-." He paused in consideration of his words. "When a breeder begins to gray and become old, there is a smell that will suddenly become apparent to him. This aroma will drive all other thoughts from the Breeder's brain and will draw it to where it originated. The Breeder will go to a bush called the Tree-of-Life and forge among its roots for a type of yam that it grows, and the Breeder will consume it. This yam contains a symbiotic virus that triggers the transformation into a Pak Protector."
"Shouldn't the virus only work on the Pak species?" asked Jessica, who forgot for a moment just how scared she was.
Adam chortled again. "It seems the Humans of Earth and the Pak species are related somehow. Or at least so genetically similar that the virus reacts in the same way with Humans."
Ruth asked the question she dreaded. "But why did one Protector kill Samuel and another Protector drive off the killer?"
Adam nodded in a chimp-like manner though his beak-like face revealed no other emotions. "Now you are asking the right questions. But to answer that would put us a little ahead of what must be explained. When a Protector is made, its skin forms into a leathery exoskeleton, it's genitalia vanish and a second two-chambered heart forms in the groin region, fingernails become retractable claws, the sense of smell increase exponentially, a bony beak forms in place of the mouth causing all of the teeth fall out and the strength of the breeder increased to about ten times what it had previously been. Most significantly, however, is the brain." He tapped his large bony cranium. "The skull expands to give room for the growing brain. The intellect increases to such a degree that even if the Breeder started out with the intellect of a farm cow it would increase to a measure far beyond that of all the geniuses of Earth."
Ruth looked at him in confusion. "That doesn't explain about the two Protectors."
Adam nodded. "Some things are so complex that they have to be explained in stages. Bear with me, Ruth. There is-"
The picture fuzzed briefly and there was a collective groan from the viewers, but it continued again with the subjects in the same positions.
"-mind of a Protector is focused to an almost previously unperceived determination and clarity. And will go to any lengths to ensure their descendants continuation. And that is their biggest stumbling block."
"I don't understand," said Ruth.
"A Pak Protector will kill the Children and Breeders of other variant Pak species so that their own descendants can thrive."
"But-but they are all the same species!"
Adam shook his head. "That does not matter to a Pak Protector. If a Pak Protector smells a genetic anomaly among his own offspring, a mutation, the Protector will kill it to keep the gene pool from becoming contaminated."
Jessica was aghast. "That's horrible!"
"A Protector does not care about what is horrible. A Protector is just driven to do what it feels is best for its children."
"Wait! Did the Protector kill all of those Altrusians?"
Adam nodded. "Yes. It felt driven to protect its charges from a dangerous rival. It has also been killing a number of other large animal predators in the area, too."
Jessica was puzzled, and despite her fear asked a question. "If the first Protector that Ruth saw came to kill us, why did the second Protector defend us?"
Adam regarded them for a moment. "Because the defending Protector was Jonah. And Ruth carries his child."
Wide-eyed, Ruth gasped. "I'd thought he was dead! I thought this horrible place had killed him!"
"He smelled the Tree-of-Life and was drawn to it just as I later stumbled onto it. We both were changed and became Protectors."
Ruth raised the flare gun and pointed it directly at him again. "But we aren't your species," she said. "Are you here to kill us?"
"A reasonable assumption," said Adam. "But no. Even if there had been any chimpanzees around, I would not have been bonded to them because of the genetic changes that had been performed on me by your scientists to make me more intelligent. So no, I am not here to kill you. There is another position a Protector can take if there are no children for it to guard. The childless Protector can either starve itself to death or it can choose to take on all of the Pak species under its protection as I have done."
Jessica and Ruth were unsure. It was an unusual story to say the least. "Why was Samuel killed?"
"To keep from breeding, of course. It is the usual precaution for a Protector to ensure no rivals rise to challenge his children. And that is what the Pakuni Protector did."
Ruth swallowed. "So Jonah is alive and well?"
"When I last saw them they were both mortally wounded from fighting each other. Both knew where I stood on the subject and asked me to save their kin."
Ruth cried out anew as the screen became disrupted. When it cleared, the mutated chimp was speaking again. "-learned enough of the controls to start a flood to wipe out the creatures living in the valleys."
"But that will kill the Pakuni as well," pointed out Ruth.
Adam shook his head. "Their Protector had already planned to herd his people up to the mountain areas where it had stored supplies to last until the waters retreated."
"Planned to? So they don't know about the coming flood?" asked Jessica.
"No. I will go to them after leaving you."
"What about the Altrusians?" asked Jessica.
"They are not my concern."
Ruth and Jessica were visibly horrified. "Not your concern?"
"They are not of the same genetic stock so I will not make any attempts to save them. In fact, since they are a threat to your survival, I would try to kill them myself if I was able."
"Adam! That monstrous!"
"Wait a moment." Jessica held up a hand. "Why wouldn't you be able to kill them? You would survive the flood, right?"
"Ah, perceptive child. I would survive the flood. I may even survive after the waters recede. But not much longer after that."
"Protectors have short life spans?"
"Quite the opposite," answered the modified simian. "A Protector can live for tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands of years if it still had the Tree-of-Life to consume."
"The flooding will kill the Tree-of-Life? Is that what you are saying?" asked Ruth.
"Most likely, but that is beside the point. The essential ingredient, the symbiotic virus that survives in the yams, appears to not thrive in this soil. The same thing was happening back on the alternate Earth that the Pakuni Protector had come from. If a Protector cannot eat of the Tree-of-Life, it will die."
Realization hit Ruth. "That is why the other Protector is trying to kill all possible threats with a flood. It knows it will be dead soon and it wants to take away all the dangers it can while it is still possible."
"Correct, Ruth." Adam nodded. "Now I must go to the Pakuni and lead them into the high country."
"Can't you stop the flood?" Jessica said.
Adam paused. "Possible. But I do not know where the location for the controls is, or how they work. The Pakuni Protector would not reveal these things to me knowing that I might choose to stop it, but that I would save its descendants if that was the only opportunity left to me. I could not attempt to do both."
"We could use the ARK II to rescue the Pakuni while you try stopping the flood," suggested Ruth.
The screen faded. When it cleared it showed Ruth looking tired, ragged and wet, but there was an air of excitement about her. In the background R.J Spencer was being helped to his feet by a tall minotaur and an unknown military man under the guidance of Jessica. Ruth turned briefly to them as they left off screen. "I don't know what day this is. The flooding lasted for days. The Pakuni Protector had evidently set up a delayed portal set to open and pour in ocean water as well as causing torrents of rain." She shook her head. "The only good thing was that we couldn't hear all the cries of terror and death due to the thunderous sound of the pouring water."
"After dropping off the Pakuni I took the ARK II down to see if I could save any of the Altrusians but Adam caught up with me. He must have realized what I would do and came to stop me. I was fortunate that he didn't want to harm me. During the encounter with Adam, the ARK II was caught in a mudslide and almost fell into the racing waters. It's now on a ledge and I don't know how long it will stay here. It may fall into the water yet, so we will take what we can and seal it shut with hope that we can find it later. I don't know what happened to the Altrusians. They may be dead or stuck in air pockets down in their underground tunnels."
"Adam is in a coma. We don't know if he'll live. Last night our camp was attacked by what I can best describe as a Yeti. An honest to goodness abominable snowman. Adam killed the attacker, but he was seriously injured himself."
"Meanwhile, the water portal had inadvertently let in more than just water. A U.S. submarine named SSRN Seaview was pulled in along with its crew. I've discussed our situation with Adm. Harriman Nelson. He couldn't believe it at first but then he sailed his sub down the massive straight watery path that now flowed between the mountains and after traveling around thirty-five miles he found that we were there in front of him. At first, he thought it was a trick, but after four more attempts he had to give in to our explanations. I didn't help matters any that his ship had previously been in pursuit of a pirate sub which may be trapped here as well."
"Lt. Comdr. Chip Morton, an officer on the Seaview has come up with a radical idea. Using the sensors of the Seaview along with some of the sensor equipment borrowed from the ARK II, he proposes to create a device to detect where the water portal is and then propel the Seaview back through it to their world." She looked down for a moment. "R.J., Jessica and I will go with them to make the attempt. Kaz has decided to stay and look after the Pakuni while searching for his own way home. I hope he finds it. As for us, I believe the Seaview comes from a parallel world that is similar to ours. It sounds like there will be many similarities, but the Great Disaster on my world has not occurred there and with the information I carry maybe it never will."
She took a moment to bite a protein bar, grimacing from her nausea even as she forced it down. "There was a hiccup of sorts. Chief Sharkey of the Seaview had gone missing. A search party went out and some of the younger ensigns found him passed out by a tree where he had evidently gorged himself on the yams among its roots. I was able to help examine him. There is no doubt that he will become another Pak Protector. I had the ensigns go back and package up as much of the yams they could in sealed containers. This way Chief Sharkey will be able to survive for a time. I hope." She paused. "Maybe when Sharkey awakens, his increased intelligence will be able to find a way to restore the vitality of the symbiotic virus that creates and feeds the Pak Protectors. That said, I am unsure how I feel about such a cold, methodical being watching over mankind as it's protector. After Adam changed, he lacked the kindness and grace that was always-"
An explosion could be heard off screen. Jessica ran back inside. "It's the pirate sub! It's attacking! And the mud above us is starting to give way! The ARK II will be buried! Come on!"
Ruth barely had time to grab a bag as she was pulled out of the ARK II by Jessica. After a few moments things in view began to tumble around the inside of the ARK II and then the recording stopped.
Kryten closed his mouth now that the projecting was over and adjusted his jaw.
"So that's it then, is it?" said Lister. He and the others were shifting where they sat from being too comfortable.
"That was all that was recovered in regard to their time in this land," responded the robot.
"Although we do have a nice sampling of their logs from their earlier journeys. Would you like to view those as well?" offered Kryten hopefully.
Rimmer was the first to his feet. "You mean, do we want our minds to implode more than they already have? Then, no, dear God, no. Save it for a day when we all feel like, um-" He turned to Lister. "What's that thing the Japanese chaps do when they stick a sword in their gut and swish it all around?"
"Die?" suggested Lister.
Rimmer, seeing the Lister wouldn't be any help, stormed away.
"Hey, you made goal-post head go away. Good job." Cat bowed in approval
Will wasn't sure what to think. He wasn't used to adults acting this way. Except for Dr. Smith, that is. "What do we do now?"
"Now," said Cat, "we find something better to eat than these small lizards and berries. Then we eat until we are stuffed. Then when the rest of you all go to sleep, I head over to the little lady guarding the spider crone and see if she'd like to find out how loud I can purr."
"Cat!" But Lister was so disgusted with him he couldn't think of what to say.
Will tried again. "Shouldn't we try to figure out how this information is useful to us?"
"Ark saves!" agreed Cha-Ka.
"Yeah, it saved your people hundreds of years ago," agreed Alf, "but I don't think it'll help us now."
The young Paku considered what Alf had said and found he couldn't agree with him. "Ark saves!"
"But what have we learned?" Will tried again.
The Cat did a spin and added his two cents. "That monkey-boy Cha-Ka here is related to you all. But I knew that already." He tapped his nose. "The nose does not lie."
Ignoring the Cat, Dr. Smith added his thoughts. "We learned that this place can be flooded." He glanced around for an invisible rising water line. "Shouldn't we conclude this discussion after we have reached higher ground?"
"No, Dr. Smith." Will shook his head. Adults could be so exasperating at times. Especially when they weren't acting like adults. "We learned that this place was made. That it brings people and animals from different worlds and time periods, probably to see how they react to one another. Now what are we going to do about that?"
Alf rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So you are suggesting we should be looking for whoever is running this show, even though the evidence suggests that this place is perhaps thousands of years old?"
"Fppt!" Lister blew through his teeth. "Naw, man! The makers of this place have to be long dead. This is one of those scenarios where we need to look for is the main control room and face the age-crazed sentient computers that now run the place now."
Kryten and the Jupiter II robot turn to Lister. "And, sir, why does it have to be a sentient computer that's taken over everything?"
"It could more likely be a crazed, immortal humanoid with a sadistic god complex," pointed out the robot.
Dave Lister held up his hands. "Ease off! I was just speculating, alright?"
Kryten and the robot turned away in an appearance of disgust.
Dr. Smith tutted. "Those two won't be any help for a while, the ungrateful wretches. Man built the automatons, but are they grateful? No! Just full of surly retorts!"
Lister frowned. He found that Dr. Smith to be too much like Rimmer for his taste. "They have developed sentience. They are entitled to their opinions. Unfortunately, that also means they may not be very helpful right now."
Cha-Ka jumped up and down. "Marshalls help!"
Dr. Smith tilted his head back and looked down his nose at the excited Paku. "Ah, yes. The elusive Marshall clan. You do comprehend that they can't help us if we can't find them, don't you?"
Cha-Ka looked angry and hurt. Will Robinson patted him on the shoulder. "He's right, Cha-Ka. We need to find the Marshalls to see if they can help us. Maybe they will know more about the ARK II as well.
Cha-Ka sat down on a nearby rock and put his right elbow on his knee while using his hand to hold up his head in the classic thinker position. "Cha-Ka think of something. Cha-Ka wishes for more help."
Just then a red glowing figure walked into the clearing.
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Fighting the pull of the cold water, Bossk crawled feebly toward the shore. The cold was making him lethargic, but that was the least of his concerns. The Trandoshan bounty hunter was cut in numerous places including just over one of his eyes and he had to constantly wipe the blood away. The knife wound in his gut from the Star Fleeter had reopened some and was compounded by the fact that going over the waterfalls had cracked some of his ribs as well as wrenched his shoulder horribly.
He was using his good arm to pull himself toward the shore when he noticed a pair of boots right in front of him.
Before he could rationalize what to say or do, the person wearing the boots had lifted him up by his good arm to the point that he was dangling. At first glance, Bossk thought that it was a Human, but then he noticed the robotic features under the damaged areas of its face and one of its arms.
"What are you?" said the cyborg in a monotone voice devoid of emotion.
"Bounty hunter." It was the first thing to come to his rattled brain.
"What is your species?"
Bossk glanced at the cyborg again through his unbloodied eye. "Trandoshan."
"Why are you here?"
"Job. Hunting prey."
The cyborg seemed to take a moment to process that. "I am looking for a woman named Sarah Connor." It paused before adding, "A Human woman. Have you seen her?"
Bossk considered the opportunity before him. "There were cough three women in the group that I was hunting. Don't know names. Hair colors were brunette, auburn and blonde. Could be one was cough your Sarah Connor." The cyborg regarded him, which Bossk took as a good sign. "I'm not very fit to travel. My shoulder is out of its socket and-"
The cyborg lowered him to the ground where Bossk found that he could stand albeit with some swaying involved.
The cyborg a hand on his shoulder and then another on his elbow.
He became very concerned. "What are yo-"
crunch
His arm popped back into place followed by immediate amounts of pain. "By the dregs of Kestle!" He panted as his sight began to return. Without being aware of it, he had grabbed out with his other arm onto the cyborg to steady himself. That was when he noticed that the blaster rifle that the cyborg had strapped over his shoulder was the one that had belonged to IG-88. The cyborg went up in the bounty hunter's estimation from being an oddity to being something very dangerous. "What are you?" he gasped.
"A T-800 cyborg unit."
"What is your primary function?"
Before the cyborg could answer, three quills imbedded themselves in the side of the cyborg's face.
The Terminator unit, ignoring the quills, turned to deal with the assault. Just at the woods edge along the shore, dark little eyes sparkled along with their sharp teeth. More of the small figures began rolling to group for the anticipating feast. The Krites were hungry.
The cyborg walked toward the little foot tall ball creatures with the toothy grins and was greeted by a hail of quills. Bossk fell down to the water's edge and watched as the cyborg didn't even react to the quills.
The spiny predators slowly retreated into the trees as the cyborg approached. Once the Terminator unit was among the trees a shower of the Krites rained down on it, biting all the while. They bit into the flesh and were surprised at the resistance under the meaty exterior but continued right on eating what they could.
The Terminator reacted to the threat and killed the carnivorous aliens with his bare hands. Some he popped like balloons, others he stomped flat. When there were no more within reach, he pulled out the blaster rifle and began shooting every Crite he saw.
When Bossk saw the T-800 cyborg unit returning it resembled more the droids to which he was more familiar with; he also knew that it was a killing machine. It no longer resembled a man except in form. It was also covered in blood. Both its own blood as well as that of the Krites he had just killed.
The cyborg reached down and pulled Bossk to his feet again.
"You will take me to the three females," said the Terminator. "When we find them, I will determine if one of the females is Sarah Connor."
Bossk nodded and then slowly lead the way through the woods.
To be Continued!
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Original AuThOr'S NoTeS: 11/30/2007
Well, we've had our baby girl. Born on the 18th. We are calling her Ellie, which is short for Eleanora. It's been a long, hard pregnancy and now we can recover. I hope.
Okay, people are going to ask, 'Why the Ringworld connection?', and I'm going to point out right now that Larry Niven – the writer of the Ringworld series – wrote some of the Land of the Lost episodes and I believe he was even consulted by the maker(s) of Land of the Lost for ideas when they were coming up with the concept. I believe he must have either created the concept of the Pakuni from his many Pak species on the Ringworld or the people who made the show must have the loved the idea of the Pak species that they included one of their own.
This segment is mostly to explain the history of the Pakuni and give an explanation for the Altrusians de-volving to primitive Sleestaks. There will be more on that situation explained in a later story update. In addition, this also gives an explanation to how the Borg happened to dig up a buried submarine. It is the pirate sub by the way.
By the way, the 'goal-post head' reference to Rimmer refers to the large capital H on his forehead, which marks him as a hologram.
There will be no further reference to Ark II, Kaz the Minotaur, Thunder in Paradise, or Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Just think of them as having managed to safely leave the Land of the Lost.
I brought back Bossk. Hope people are okay with it. I also decided to give the Terminator cyborg a bigger role. Besides, somebody had to wipe out the Krite population or else those Critters would have killed off everything that was made of meat.
ChArAcTeR InDeX FoR ThE ChApTeR:
Adam – from the TV series ARK II (1976-1979)
'Alf' / Shumway, Gordon (Paul Fusco) – from the TV series ALF (1986-1990)
Bossk (Alan Harris) – from the movie Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Cat (Danny John-Jules) – from the TV series Red Dwarf (1988-1993, 1997, 1999, 2009, 2012)
Cha-Ka (Philip Paley) – from the TV series Land of the Lost (1974-1976)
Connor, Sarah (Linda Hamilton) – from the movie The Terminator (1984) (mentioned only)
Guevera, Max (Jessica Alba) – from the TV series Dark Angel (2000-2002)
1997, 1999, 2009, 2012)
Hitchcock, Alfred – (mentioned only)
IG-88 (Paul Klein) – from the movie Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (mentioned only)
Jonah (Terry Lester) – from the TV series ARK II (1976-1979)
Kaz, the Minotaur – from the book Kaz the Minotaur, 1990, by Richard A. Knaak, of the Dragonlance series
Krites – from the movie Critters (1986), Critters 2 (1988), Critters 3 (1991), Critters 4 (1992)
Kryten (Robert Llewellyn) – from the TV series Red Dwarf (1989-1993)
Lister, Dave (Craig Charles) – from the TV series Red Dwarf (1988-1993, 1997, 1999, 2009, 2012)
Morton, Lt. Comdr. Chip (Robert Dowdell) – from the TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968)
Nelson, Adm. Harriman (Richard Basehart) – from the TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968)
Number Six (Patrick McGoohan) – from the TV series The Prisoner (1967-1968)
Pak Protectors – from the book Ringworld, 1970, by Larry Niven, of the Ringworld series
Pakuni – from the TV series Land of the Lost (1974-1976)
Rimmer, Arnold Judas (Chris Barrie) – from the TV series Red Dwarf (1988-1993, 1997, 1999, 2009, 2012)
Robinson, Will (Bill Mumy) – from the TV series Lost in Space (1965-1968)
The Robot / Robot B-9 (Bob May / voiced by Dick Tufeld) – from the TV series Lost in Space (1965-1968)
Ruth (Jean Marie Hon) – from the TV series ARK II (1976-1979)
Samuel (Jose Flores) – from the TV series ARK II (1976-1979)
Sharkey, Chief Francis Ethelbert (Terry Becker) – from the TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968) (mentioned only)
Sleestak / Altrusians – from the TV series Land of the Lost (1974-1976)
Smith, Dr. Zachary (Jonathan Harris) – from the TV series Lost in Space (1965-1968)
Spencer, Jessica Whitaker (Ashley Gorrell) – from the TV series Thunder in Paradise (1994)
Spencer, Randolph J. 'Hurricane' (Hulk Hogan) – from the TV series Thunder in Paradise (1994)
Spider-Woman / Black Widow (voiced by Ginny Tyler) – from the cartoon Space Ghost (1966)
The Terminator / T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) – from the movie The Terminator (1984)