FALLEN HERO
By AJ Burfield, MJ Cogburn and Katherine Freymuth
CHAPTER EIGHT
Project Quantum Leap
When the Imaging Chamber walls appeared once again, Al knew that the situation was getting worse. He stormed out of the Imaging Chamber with a vengeance. There was no way in hell that damned computer was going to take over this Project and leave Sam defenseless against Thames and Zoey.
"Tina, status!" He commanded.
Tina's hands were definitely busy on, under and around the console, and she didn't even look up as she spoke. "We've got internal meltdown everywhere, Admiral. We're trying to locate the main system that the infiltrator is working from, but there are so many false leads, it's almost impossible. Donna's in Section Four working on leads. We're gonna need a LOT more power!"
Al began to pace as she spoke. When she mentioned the need for power, he turned and saw Sammi Jo entering the room.
Sammy Jo bustled right to the console doing her own little modifications here and there. "Just tap into another power source. Let's see...the biggest around here would be... Las Vegas." She mumbled not necessarily talking to anyone in particular. Her mind was in chaos, and the only thing that she could do to calm it was to talk things through. "Las Vegas. Hoover Dam." She said softly.
"I don't care where you get the power, just get it," Al told them firmly, pacing once again. He turned to both of them. "Take the whole damn state,"
He ordered.
Sammy Jo looked up at Al in surprise. "That'd do it." She said as she finished her entry code without looking at the screen.
"And if it doesn't, try Los Angeles too," he added. "I'll be damned before we run outta gas..." He almost smiled at the illustration. "Kind of like siphoning gas from your neighbor's car. You want the gas, but you sure as hell don't want the neighbor to find out what you're doing."
Tina had ducked under the console at the last sentence. Her words were muffled. "That's right. We don't want our neighbor here to know what we're doing. Hmmm. We may be able to run most of the lines into one area and trap it; but gee, that's a lot of lines."
Sammi Jo looked down at a screen and typed in her command to execute, and smiled as she listened to the Admiral and Tina. "We may have
Ziggy back faster than normal," she mumbled.
Tina stood, looking blankly at the Admiral as her mind worked. Her lips moved, silently calculating. "For this to work we need power and we need
Ziggy. We need her for just a few seconds. If we distract the intruder, she can execute the command."
Sammi Jo glanced at Tina instantly understanding what she meant.
"Oh... yeah..." she said shaking her finger toward Tina knowingly.
Tina grinned, her white teeth flashing. "If we can get the geometric processes of the intruder going in a circle...like Mobius strip or somethin'...that might be enough for Ziggy to get the job done."
Tina crossed the Control room and yanked off yet another panel. She reached in, and began to tweak the wires inside. "I need somethin' sharp... wait!" She yanked off one of her dangly earrings that looked like an ancient TV antenna, and stuck it in the portal. "There!"
"Come on you big bolts of junk. Talk to me." Sammi Jo whispered. Seeing how Tina had tweaked the panel, she hoped that it would work.
"Ziggy? Ziggy, can you hear me?" Sammie Jo turned to the sphere and smiled hoping that they would hear that sexy voice again.
"Yyyeeeessssss?" Ziggy purred her voice resonated through out the project. "What do you need Dr. Fuller?"
When Al heard Ziggy's voice purring through the room, he grinned like the Cheshire cat. "YES!" he exclaimed with a raised clenched fist.
Sammi Jo smiled at the voice.
"Ziggy, we need to know how we can get that tin of metal out of your programming once and for all and we need to know fast before Lothos can get connected again," Al spoke as he started for the Imaging Chamber.
"Disconnect at the source. That is the only way to keep him out."
He stopped and turned to look at the sphere. "You don't mean the source here, do you." He stated, realizing what she really meant. He didn't wait for a reply. He just hoped that Sam would be able to get that information from Alia. "Center me on Sam, Ziggy." He stepped into the center of the Imaging Chamber and waited with baited breath.
The lights dimmed and Ziggy responded.
"We're almost out of time, Admiral." Tina said as she looked at the panel in front of her. "I don't know how long this diversion will last. Hurry!"
"Come on, come on," Al whispered impatiently, knowing that Ziggy was doing the best that she could, given the circumstances.
The entire project went to emergency lighting and power as the Chamber fired up. Tina ripped off her other earring and jammed it in the portal alongside the remains of the first one. The Imaging Chamber slowly came online; the whirling sluggish for a brief moment as it tried to connect.
"Admiral..." Ziggy began. "There."
Suddenly the link connected and he saw Sam and Alia cautiously traveling along a deer path, well concealed by the brush.
"Sam!" Al exclaimed seeing his friend, and grateful that he wasn't hurt. Suddenly, Sam stopped. "Al?" he whispered, turning in a circle. "Al!" where are you?"
Al waved a hand towards him. "Over here."
Sam faced the voice. "I can't see you, but I hear you..." Alia also turned around as Sam called out the hologram's name.
"Damn!" Al complained, knowing it was a moot point. "Sam, we don't have a lot of time. Ziggy says that you have to kill the connection at the source. Somehow, you've got to get to Lothos directly."
Sam reached for Alia's hand and gripped it tight. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to that."
Alia looked at Sam wondering what he is talking about. "What? That it wouldn't come to what?"
"Sam, it's our only shot!" Al exclaimed vehemently. "We're losing the battle here, Sam." He looked around at his surroundings as they began to flicker and slowly vanish inch by inch.
"Don't let them get Ziggy, Al. If it means destroying the whole Project, don't let them get her. I'll do what I can. Al? Did you hear me?"
Al's voice came to him in fragments. "I... ill... o... wha... ca.... jus... ang...Sam...." The voice vanished.
Sam dropped Alia's hand and stepped forward, turning around, searchingly. "Al? I'll find Lothos, Al!"
All Sam heard were birds chirping and wind rustling the brush. He turned to face Alia. "He's gone." Sam's expression was one of disbelief.
Alia looked at Sam and shook her head. "She's probably already gone."
"YES!" Zoey said as she wheeled herself into the touching scene where she had finally found them. She moved the wheelchair in a lazy circle, tossing her head back into the air. "THAMES, DARLING! OVER HERE!" She yelled out happily.
Sam took both of Alia's hands firmly in his. "No. I won't let it happen,
Alia. You're my only hope."
Alia looked at him not understanding. "Your only hope? What? Hope for what?"
"I've got to stop him at the source. I'm going after Lothos. Tell me exactly where Lothos is."
Zoey glared at the two of them suddenly realizing what Beckett meant. "You won't be able to stop him, my fine specimen. You'll be dead in a matter of minutes."
"You're what?!" Alia shook her head and backed away from him. "You're crazy, Sam."
Thames stated to make his way through the brush quickly following Zoey's voice. He finally came close enough to hear the two talking as well. Raising the rifle, he took careful aim with an evil grin. "Bull's-eye Beckett," he murmured as he fired.
Sam saw a flash of metal out of the corner of his eye, and reacted without thinking. He launched himself at Alia, knocking her flat, and heard the bullet whiz over his head. He rolled her behind a downed tree and took off to circle around to Thames' back.
"How could you have missed? He was ten feet away from you!" Zoey yelled at Thames.
"Damn!" Thames angrily exclaimed. He leveled the rifle again, searching quickly for his prey through the sights. "Find him, damn it, Zoey!" He ordered her.
Zoey looked at the hand link in her lap and began to point. "He's making a circle around there. He's trying to distract you from Alia."
Thames frowned. "Who give a damn about Alia right now!" He growled with clenched teeth. "We get rid of Beckett, she's an easy target." He raised the rifle again, seeing a sliver of Sam. Firing, he missed again.
It was then that Sam pounced. He landed on top of the man and they tumbled to the ground. The rifle flew off to the side and Sam started punching as hard as he could. They began to roll back and forth, Sam trying to reach his neck. He struggled to his knees.
Thames struggled against him like a wild animal. Sam believed he could rip him to shreds with just his fingers.
Sam pushed him off and managed to get to his feet and aimed a round kick at Thames' head. Thames stumbled back at the kick and fell to the ground. He quickly got back on his feet, a rock in his fist.
Sam spun for another kick, but this time Thames dodged it and followed through to clobber Sam's head with the rock. Sam stumbled, stunned, and tried to fend off the blows with his arms. He was forced down to his knees by the attack.
His attack continued with vengeance, each blow opening a new wound on Sam's forehead and arms. Thames grinned like a hyena Zoey watched with an evil grin, excited with what she was witnessing. Finally, Dr. Samuel Beckett would be no more!
Sam backed against a boulder, weakly trying to fight back, but clearly stunned and unable to find an opening in the wild man's attack. All he could do was protect himself and try to stay on his feet.
Suddenly, two shots echoed through the valley.
Sam felt wetness splash on his face and the blows stopped abruptly. He looked glanced over his arms and saw Thames stiffen, the bloody rock slipping from his fingers and an astonished look on his face. He collapsed forward on top of Sam.
"NO!" Zoey exclaimed as she saw Thames fall. Thames was unable to see his holographic Observer as she snapped out of existence in this time.
There was a moment of silence as Sam felt Thames' last heartbeat against his own chest. A red hue dissipated in front of him, and the undamaged body of one of the hired hands slid down to the ground. Sam saw the innocent man was still breathing and looked up to see Alia, the rifle still leveled, her hair blowing wildly around her face as the wind picked up.
Slowly, Alia fell to her knees, the rifle's barrel falling to the ground but her grip still tight on the weapon.
Sam went to her and wrapped his arms around her trembling body.
"Everything will be okay, Alia. Trust me..." He felt the familiar tingling in his extremities and squeezed his eyes shut, brushing her ear lightly as he spoke.
"Trust me," he whispered again as he leaped.
*****************
Island off of the British Isle
The past was gone in a flash of red light. Zoey found herself in mid scream, and was moving the wheelchair even before her surroundings settled into solidity. She moved frantically to the Imaging Disc even though the pain in her upper body was excruciating. She had to know. From across the room she could see that he was down and unmoving.
Wheeling up to him, the frozen, startled look of surprise on his face confirmed her fear. Her shoulders drooped and she lowered her head in shock as her eyes followed the trail of blood draining toward the innermost part of the room.
One single solitary tear slid down her face, but when her head finally rose, her teeth were clenched; the snarl plainly evident as she looked up at the thing that she had once called a lover. "How DARE you just let him die!" She accused through teeth clenched in pure hatred.
"No one man... is more... important... than... the mission." Lothos' voice boomed in a kind of staccato, strained from the energy drainage from Ziggy.
"You don't seem to get it through your thick..." Zoey stopped for a moment thinking about what she was about to say. He wasn't human anymore.
"Skull?" Lothos supplied when she hesitated.
"Circuits." Zoey said vehemently. "You..."
"I... am more... than circuits... my love," he replied. "I could... not prevent ... Thames' death. It is... quite regrettable."
Zoey cringed at his endearing term. She wasn't his love anymore even though her love for Lothoman did still exist in her heart. "Ha! Regrettable is right," she snarled, dashing the emotion. "I can't do both Observing and Leaping. I can't even walk, remember? I can't even..." She stopped and looked up at the person/thing that he had become. "I can hardly breathe properly!" she coughed.
"Zoey," Lothos said as seductively as a biomechanical computer could. "You... are... the most... important one to me... you will succeed... where all others... have failed."
Zoey looked up at the thing that was still imprisoned there. "If I can't
breathe..." she talked over him, "I will FAIL! I'LL BE DEAD, YOU IDIOT!"
The fear of probable punishment for her outburst was overridden by a choking coughing fit. Lothos waited until the fit subsided and she could hear him over her gasping.
The response was less than friendly. "You think you are in pain now... wait..." There was a long pause. "Dr. Beckett." Lothos said as if a thought had occurred to him, distracting him from his intent to punish.
"What about him?" She whispered with a raw throat. "He doesn't matter anymore. Nothing does."
"Nothing will... unless... he's dead," Lothos corrected. "You will have... a chance again... my love."
"Stop." She said softly, hoping that he couldn't hear her. "Don't call me that anymore."
"You may not... be able to... accept the truth..." He let the sentence fade. "He is coming," he stated firmly.
"Who?" She asked, raising her head at the statement.
"Beckett." The name was spit out with tangible hatred.
Zoey smiled at the thought. "I welcome it." She said vehemently as she wheeled herself toward a compartment carved in the wall. She unlocked the metal door by tapping in a code, and retrieved a handgun stored there. She handled it thoughtfully. "I'll have my revenge... my love..." she said, accenting his term of endearment. "And I'll do it myself this time."
By AJ Burfield, MJ Cogburn and Katherine Freymuth
CHAPTER EIGHT
Project Quantum Leap
When the Imaging Chamber walls appeared once again, Al knew that the situation was getting worse. He stormed out of the Imaging Chamber with a vengeance. There was no way in hell that damned computer was going to take over this Project and leave Sam defenseless against Thames and Zoey.
"Tina, status!" He commanded.
Tina's hands were definitely busy on, under and around the console, and she didn't even look up as she spoke. "We've got internal meltdown everywhere, Admiral. We're trying to locate the main system that the infiltrator is working from, but there are so many false leads, it's almost impossible. Donna's in Section Four working on leads. We're gonna need a LOT more power!"
Al began to pace as she spoke. When she mentioned the need for power, he turned and saw Sammi Jo entering the room.
Sammy Jo bustled right to the console doing her own little modifications here and there. "Just tap into another power source. Let's see...the biggest around here would be... Las Vegas." She mumbled not necessarily talking to anyone in particular. Her mind was in chaos, and the only thing that she could do to calm it was to talk things through. "Las Vegas. Hoover Dam." She said softly.
"I don't care where you get the power, just get it," Al told them firmly, pacing once again. He turned to both of them. "Take the whole damn state,"
He ordered.
Sammy Jo looked up at Al in surprise. "That'd do it." She said as she finished her entry code without looking at the screen.
"And if it doesn't, try Los Angeles too," he added. "I'll be damned before we run outta gas..." He almost smiled at the illustration. "Kind of like siphoning gas from your neighbor's car. You want the gas, but you sure as hell don't want the neighbor to find out what you're doing."
Tina had ducked under the console at the last sentence. Her words were muffled. "That's right. We don't want our neighbor here to know what we're doing. Hmmm. We may be able to run most of the lines into one area and trap it; but gee, that's a lot of lines."
Sammi Jo looked down at a screen and typed in her command to execute, and smiled as she listened to the Admiral and Tina. "We may have
Ziggy back faster than normal," she mumbled.
Tina stood, looking blankly at the Admiral as her mind worked. Her lips moved, silently calculating. "For this to work we need power and we need
Ziggy. We need her for just a few seconds. If we distract the intruder, she can execute the command."
Sammi Jo glanced at Tina instantly understanding what she meant.
"Oh... yeah..." she said shaking her finger toward Tina knowingly.
Tina grinned, her white teeth flashing. "If we can get the geometric processes of the intruder going in a circle...like Mobius strip or somethin'...that might be enough for Ziggy to get the job done."
Tina crossed the Control room and yanked off yet another panel. She reached in, and began to tweak the wires inside. "I need somethin' sharp... wait!" She yanked off one of her dangly earrings that looked like an ancient TV antenna, and stuck it in the portal. "There!"
"Come on you big bolts of junk. Talk to me." Sammi Jo whispered. Seeing how Tina had tweaked the panel, she hoped that it would work.
"Ziggy? Ziggy, can you hear me?" Sammie Jo turned to the sphere and smiled hoping that they would hear that sexy voice again.
"Yyyeeeessssss?" Ziggy purred her voice resonated through out the project. "What do you need Dr. Fuller?"
When Al heard Ziggy's voice purring through the room, he grinned like the Cheshire cat. "YES!" he exclaimed with a raised clenched fist.
Sammi Jo smiled at the voice.
"Ziggy, we need to know how we can get that tin of metal out of your programming once and for all and we need to know fast before Lothos can get connected again," Al spoke as he started for the Imaging Chamber.
"Disconnect at the source. That is the only way to keep him out."
He stopped and turned to look at the sphere. "You don't mean the source here, do you." He stated, realizing what she really meant. He didn't wait for a reply. He just hoped that Sam would be able to get that information from Alia. "Center me on Sam, Ziggy." He stepped into the center of the Imaging Chamber and waited with baited breath.
The lights dimmed and Ziggy responded.
"We're almost out of time, Admiral." Tina said as she looked at the panel in front of her. "I don't know how long this diversion will last. Hurry!"
"Come on, come on," Al whispered impatiently, knowing that Ziggy was doing the best that she could, given the circumstances.
The entire project went to emergency lighting and power as the Chamber fired up. Tina ripped off her other earring and jammed it in the portal alongside the remains of the first one. The Imaging Chamber slowly came online; the whirling sluggish for a brief moment as it tried to connect.
"Admiral..." Ziggy began. "There."
Suddenly the link connected and he saw Sam and Alia cautiously traveling along a deer path, well concealed by the brush.
"Sam!" Al exclaimed seeing his friend, and grateful that he wasn't hurt. Suddenly, Sam stopped. "Al?" he whispered, turning in a circle. "Al!" where are you?"
Al waved a hand towards him. "Over here."
Sam faced the voice. "I can't see you, but I hear you..." Alia also turned around as Sam called out the hologram's name.
"Damn!" Al complained, knowing it was a moot point. "Sam, we don't have a lot of time. Ziggy says that you have to kill the connection at the source. Somehow, you've got to get to Lothos directly."
Sam reached for Alia's hand and gripped it tight. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to that."
Alia looked at Sam wondering what he is talking about. "What? That it wouldn't come to what?"
"Sam, it's our only shot!" Al exclaimed vehemently. "We're losing the battle here, Sam." He looked around at his surroundings as they began to flicker and slowly vanish inch by inch.
"Don't let them get Ziggy, Al. If it means destroying the whole Project, don't let them get her. I'll do what I can. Al? Did you hear me?"
Al's voice came to him in fragments. "I... ill... o... wha... ca.... jus... ang...Sam...." The voice vanished.
Sam dropped Alia's hand and stepped forward, turning around, searchingly. "Al? I'll find Lothos, Al!"
All Sam heard were birds chirping and wind rustling the brush. He turned to face Alia. "He's gone." Sam's expression was one of disbelief.
Alia looked at Sam and shook her head. "She's probably already gone."
"YES!" Zoey said as she wheeled herself into the touching scene where she had finally found them. She moved the wheelchair in a lazy circle, tossing her head back into the air. "THAMES, DARLING! OVER HERE!" She yelled out happily.
Sam took both of Alia's hands firmly in his. "No. I won't let it happen,
Alia. You're my only hope."
Alia looked at him not understanding. "Your only hope? What? Hope for what?"
"I've got to stop him at the source. I'm going after Lothos. Tell me exactly where Lothos is."
Zoey glared at the two of them suddenly realizing what Beckett meant. "You won't be able to stop him, my fine specimen. You'll be dead in a matter of minutes."
"You're what?!" Alia shook her head and backed away from him. "You're crazy, Sam."
Thames stated to make his way through the brush quickly following Zoey's voice. He finally came close enough to hear the two talking as well. Raising the rifle, he took careful aim with an evil grin. "Bull's-eye Beckett," he murmured as he fired.
Sam saw a flash of metal out of the corner of his eye, and reacted without thinking. He launched himself at Alia, knocking her flat, and heard the bullet whiz over his head. He rolled her behind a downed tree and took off to circle around to Thames' back.
"How could you have missed? He was ten feet away from you!" Zoey yelled at Thames.
"Damn!" Thames angrily exclaimed. He leveled the rifle again, searching quickly for his prey through the sights. "Find him, damn it, Zoey!" He ordered her.
Zoey looked at the hand link in her lap and began to point. "He's making a circle around there. He's trying to distract you from Alia."
Thames frowned. "Who give a damn about Alia right now!" He growled with clenched teeth. "We get rid of Beckett, she's an easy target." He raised the rifle again, seeing a sliver of Sam. Firing, he missed again.
It was then that Sam pounced. He landed on top of the man and they tumbled to the ground. The rifle flew off to the side and Sam started punching as hard as he could. They began to roll back and forth, Sam trying to reach his neck. He struggled to his knees.
Thames struggled against him like a wild animal. Sam believed he could rip him to shreds with just his fingers.
Sam pushed him off and managed to get to his feet and aimed a round kick at Thames' head. Thames stumbled back at the kick and fell to the ground. He quickly got back on his feet, a rock in his fist.
Sam spun for another kick, but this time Thames dodged it and followed through to clobber Sam's head with the rock. Sam stumbled, stunned, and tried to fend off the blows with his arms. He was forced down to his knees by the attack.
His attack continued with vengeance, each blow opening a new wound on Sam's forehead and arms. Thames grinned like a hyena Zoey watched with an evil grin, excited with what she was witnessing. Finally, Dr. Samuel Beckett would be no more!
Sam backed against a boulder, weakly trying to fight back, but clearly stunned and unable to find an opening in the wild man's attack. All he could do was protect himself and try to stay on his feet.
Suddenly, two shots echoed through the valley.
Sam felt wetness splash on his face and the blows stopped abruptly. He looked glanced over his arms and saw Thames stiffen, the bloody rock slipping from his fingers and an astonished look on his face. He collapsed forward on top of Sam.
"NO!" Zoey exclaimed as she saw Thames fall. Thames was unable to see his holographic Observer as she snapped out of existence in this time.
There was a moment of silence as Sam felt Thames' last heartbeat against his own chest. A red hue dissipated in front of him, and the undamaged body of one of the hired hands slid down to the ground. Sam saw the innocent man was still breathing and looked up to see Alia, the rifle still leveled, her hair blowing wildly around her face as the wind picked up.
Slowly, Alia fell to her knees, the rifle's barrel falling to the ground but her grip still tight on the weapon.
Sam went to her and wrapped his arms around her trembling body.
"Everything will be okay, Alia. Trust me..." He felt the familiar tingling in his extremities and squeezed his eyes shut, brushing her ear lightly as he spoke.
"Trust me," he whispered again as he leaped.
*****************
Island off of the British Isle
The past was gone in a flash of red light. Zoey found herself in mid scream, and was moving the wheelchair even before her surroundings settled into solidity. She moved frantically to the Imaging Disc even though the pain in her upper body was excruciating. She had to know. From across the room she could see that he was down and unmoving.
Wheeling up to him, the frozen, startled look of surprise on his face confirmed her fear. Her shoulders drooped and she lowered her head in shock as her eyes followed the trail of blood draining toward the innermost part of the room.
One single solitary tear slid down her face, but when her head finally rose, her teeth were clenched; the snarl plainly evident as she looked up at the thing that she had once called a lover. "How DARE you just let him die!" She accused through teeth clenched in pure hatred.
"No one man... is more... important... than... the mission." Lothos' voice boomed in a kind of staccato, strained from the energy drainage from Ziggy.
"You don't seem to get it through your thick..." Zoey stopped for a moment thinking about what she was about to say. He wasn't human anymore.
"Skull?" Lothos supplied when she hesitated.
"Circuits." Zoey said vehemently. "You..."
"I... am more... than circuits... my love," he replied. "I could... not prevent ... Thames' death. It is... quite regrettable."
Zoey cringed at his endearing term. She wasn't his love anymore even though her love for Lothoman did still exist in her heart. "Ha! Regrettable is right," she snarled, dashing the emotion. "I can't do both Observing and Leaping. I can't even walk, remember? I can't even..." She stopped and looked up at the person/thing that he had become. "I can hardly breathe properly!" she coughed.
"Zoey," Lothos said as seductively as a biomechanical computer could. "You... are... the most... important one to me... you will succeed... where all others... have failed."
Zoey looked up at the thing that was still imprisoned there. "If I can't
breathe..." she talked over him, "I will FAIL! I'LL BE DEAD, YOU IDIOT!"
The fear of probable punishment for her outburst was overridden by a choking coughing fit. Lothos waited until the fit subsided and she could hear him over her gasping.
The response was less than friendly. "You think you are in pain now... wait..." There was a long pause. "Dr. Beckett." Lothos said as if a thought had occurred to him, distracting him from his intent to punish.
"What about him?" She whispered with a raw throat. "He doesn't matter anymore. Nothing does."
"Nothing will... unless... he's dead," Lothos corrected. "You will have... a chance again... my love."
"Stop." She said softly, hoping that he couldn't hear her. "Don't call me that anymore."
"You may not... be able to... accept the truth..." He let the sentence fade. "He is coming," he stated firmly.
"Who?" She asked, raising her head at the statement.
"Beckett." The name was spit out with tangible hatred.
Zoey smiled at the thought. "I welcome it." She said vehemently as she wheeled herself toward a compartment carved in the wall. She unlocked the metal door by tapping in a code, and retrieved a handgun stored there. She handled it thoughtfully. "I'll have my revenge... my love..." she said, accenting his term of endearment. "And I'll do it myself this time."
