Chapter 74
Stringfellow Hawke found himself avoiding his parents as his mother was hounding him with more wedding suggestions. He was tempted to go slide into the other reality or go to the future through the wormhole just to get away from the bombardment of wedding magazines that were piled on his desk. He loved having his parents back in his life but the constant nagging about the wedding that was a year away ate at his nerves. On top of that he had two versions of Airwolf to contend with. One was hidden in a cave and the other sat in the hanger as he wondered just how they would get it back to 2022 before the next air show all while running a business and going on top secret missions for the FIRM.
String stood in the hangar door and watched as Sam returned from school with her classmates in Tony's black mustang. For the onlooker his niece appeared to be nothing more than a high school teenager hanging out with her friends but String figured that was not the case.
Tony parked the car and the teens climbed out.
"How was school?" String asked the group.
Tony told him, "We accidentally went to that other reality during school. I guess when Mr. H. and Sam start thinking about stuff together the nanites are more active."
He asked, "Did other me get Airwolf flying?"
"Looked like they were ready for a test flight." Tony replied. "We found other Cait. We took her to them. Then we dropped off food to the resistance. I guess there are already aliens on Earth." He motioned towards Sam. "Hey Sam! Tell him about that guy we met today."
Sam walked over with the class in tow. She stated, "They call him 'John' but I think his name is Apollo. Mr. H. and I started channeling something; like accessing information. In the other reality he crashed on Earth a full year prior to the Visitor invasion. Colonel Austin was there and debriefed him. He doesn't remember anything. I guess he was injured. NASA tracked some kind of dogfight in space and two crafts crashed landed. The craft with the man and the other craft had some kind of robot cyborg in it. Ralph and I got 'Cylon' for a name." She glanced into the hangar, "Is Colonel Austin here? I want to ask him if he knows anything."
"He's doing stunts for a film with your grandpa and Dom." he told her. "Mac is with them. They should be back soon. So, why the whole class today?"
Tony stated, "We got to practice for the band contest. It's this weekend."
"Already!" he forgot all about the contest.
Tony confirmed, "Yup, it kicks of Christmas break."
Sam perked up, "It's almost Christmas here?" She loved that time of year for she enjoyed the lights and decorations.
String nodded, "Didn't you notice all the Santa's ringing bells?"
"No," she honestly replied. "I've been so busy with…everything."
"Take a break." he assured her. "Maybe we can figure out how to get Sinjin's Airwolf back to him before the next air show."
She grinned, "Let's decorate the hangar!"
"No!" he huffed.
"It will be fun." she pleaded.
He suggested, "You can go decorate something else…" he then got an idea. A wonderful, awful idea, "with your grandmother." He figured if he could get his mother on a Christmas decorating kick she would leave him alone for a while.
"Have you always been such a Grinch?" she asked him.
"Yes!" he barked.
She smirked, "You better get Cait something nice."
"I will get her something nice." he promised.
"Can I come with you to the jewelry store?" she pestered.
He huffed, "No!"
"Scrooge." she miffed.
Short Time Later
Dom and his stunt team returned to the hangar after a day of filming. Upon stowing the equipment and biplanes the four men settled down in the hangar for a break before calling it a day. They found the teens were wrapping up band practice as they gathered around the break table.
John Hawke kicked back and mentioned, "Too bad those kids only play that rock and roll stuff. Sammy is a classically trained musician, like String. Now those two could put on a contest."
MacGyver smirked, "When I was in 2022, I listened to the radio. They are playing on radio the same songs they play here. It's like an 80's revival there."
Dom agreed, "First thing Sam mentioned when she came back was the songs were the same. She didn't realize the songs were nearly 40 years old. Kind of the like time warp with the music there."
Steven Austin shook his head, "This generation's music isn't our generations music." He glanced at his watch. "Jamie should be back soon. She's in 22 going on a tour with Jo and Cait." He then confessed, "I wonder if I'm still alive in 2022."
John Hawke agreed, "I wonder if I'm alive too. I would be older than dirt though."
MacGyver stated, "Apparently…I'm old, fat and retired and bugging Sinjin because I have nothing better to do."
As the band broke the equipment down and the men chatted, String noticed small Chevy S10 truck painted light blue pull into the field. He had never seen the vehicle before and wondered who could be calling. He watched as the truck rolled up to the hangar and parked. The door swung open and a tall man with dark brown hair and brown eyes emerged. He wore jeans, boots and a plaid shirt.
Apollo asked, "Is this Santini-Hawke Air?"
"That's what the sign says." String replied.
"Is Steve here? I'm supposed to meet him." he requested.
"You are?" String asked.
"I'm John Smith." he stated. He came closer and offered a hand, "Captain John Smith of the USAir Force."
"Captain." String shook his hand.
He confessed, "I'm not Air Force anymore." He walked with String into the hangar.
String called out, "Steve! You got a visitor."
Steve glanced over at his friend, "John!" He rose to his feet. "You find the hangar okay?"
"I did." he greeted.
Sam and her class paused as they looked at Apollo walk into the hangar. They gasped and spoke amongst themselves.
Tony mentioned, "Looks like we got one too."
Karl stated, "That's the dude!"
Jose blinked, "He's from space, man."
Rhonda gasped, "Wow."
Sam shot a grin to her friends. "Let's go introduce ourselves."
As the band came closer to the table with the men, Steve Austin introduced his new friend. "Everyone meet me friend, John. He was a pilot in the Air Force." He wasn't about to spill the classified information to just anyone, not even Apollo.
Apollo smiled pleasantly, "Nice to meet you all." He looked to Steve, "I need a little help with this bill I got to pay for insurance. I don't quiet understand it."
Steve asked, "What don't you understand, John?"
"What is insurance for again?" he asked a bit stumped.
"If you get in an accident the insurance helps cover the cost." he explained.
"Huh," he seemed baffled. "Does everyone have this insurance?"
"Most." he nodded. "You just pay the monthly amount."
"I will. Now when I write out a check I write the name of the insurance company on the pay to the order of line?" he asked rather confused.
Steve nodded, "You write the date, write out who to pay then in the box the amount and then on the line below the amount in words and then sign it on the bottom line."
"I think I got it." he winced.
"You bring the bill and the checkbook?" Steve asked him.
"Right here," he removed the article from his shirt pocket and handed it to him.
Steve noticed the odd looks. He quickly explained, "John was in a crash two years ago. He was coma for months and when he woke up he had relearn everything. I'm helping him."
Apollo explained, "I have amnesia and brain damage."
Sam asked, "You have no memory before the crash?"
"None." he confessed. "Steve is my friend and he helps me."
Steve wrote out the bill for him and showed him how to do it one more time. "See…Like this." He handed the check and pen back, "Now you sign it."
"Okay." he agreed and signed the fake name to the check.
Sam squinted, "I think you should tell him." She spoke to Steve.
He asked, "About the wormhole?"
"Wormhole?" Apollo asked.
Sam shook her head. She looked to Apollo and asked, "How does a warp drive engine work?"
"It's a gravity driven engine that warps space and time around a vessel and sends it through space." he replied as if it was elementary.
"What's a battlestar?" she pressed.
He replied, "A battle vessel capable of deep space travel."
"What's the Galactica?" she grinned.
"The name of a vessel." he replied and then asked. "How do I know that?"
"Because you do not have total amnesia." she insisted.
Steve looked at Sam. "What do you know that I don't, Dr. Hawke?"
She looked at Apollo, "What is the name of the vessel you were flying when crashed here?"
"A Viper." he recalled. "Um…"
"What's a Cylon?" she pressed.
"Cylon!" he didn't recall exactly what a Cylon was but the name sent shivers down his spine. "Something very bad." he concluded.
Sam looked at the men. "His name is Apollo and the nanites filled me and Ralph in on him. He's an E.T.. Not from Earth."
Apollo looked to Steve, "Is this true?"
Steve took a deep breath and admitted, "It's true. I was tasked with keeping on an eye on you and with assisting you. When you woke up, John…You had no memory. You had to learn to walk and talk all over again." He assured, "You are my friend, John. I'm not here because I was ordered to be here but because I want to be here to help you. It's just how do you tell a man who can't remember his own name or where he is from that he's not from Earth?"
Apollo felt a bit wobbly. "I think I need to sit down."
Steve quickly got him a chair. He looked to Sam, "He wasn't ready for that, Sam."
"There are threats out there and he was in a battle with a Cylon when he crashed. That's what was in the other craft. A Cylon and they are bad news." she insisted. "There are at least three E.T.'s that we have figured out. One race is human, like us." she explained.
Tony stated, "Sam's right! We know of one race of lizard people who would like to invade Earth if they could."
Steve asked, "How do you kids even know all this?"
He smirked, "That's classified, Colonel."
Apollo hunched over, "I think I feel sick."
Steve grew concerned, "It's okay, John." He gave a disappointed look to Sam.
Tony suggested, "Could those nanites that you and Mr. H. control heal his brain damage and bring back his memory?"
Sam shrugged, "I have no idea. They didn't give me an instruction manual or anything. It's been trial and error."
He urged, "He needs help, Sam."
"I guess we could try." she suggested.
String cautioned, "Sam…you are talking about using alien nanites to heal a human brain. That could be dangerous."
Apollo pulled himself together. He sucked in a deep breath for he knew what nanites were capable of. "Nanites are the only thing that can reverse the brain damage and maybe restore my memory." He looked to String, "Let her try it."
Sam took a seat before Apollo at the table. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as String coached her.
"Remember to focus and be exact on what you want the nanites to do, Sam." he urged.
"Right." she gave a nod. She grasped Apllo's hand and then carefully chose the command words. "Nanites, reverse any brain damage and restore the memories of the man who's hand I am holding."
Apollo felt a rush come over him. He closed his eyes as he felt a headache come on. He grasped Sam's hand tighter as he started to recall the events that led up to the crash and before. It was only a moment and nanites' work was done. He slowly opened his eyes as his mind was restored. He blinked for a moment and released Sam's hand. Then he rubbed his face as if waking up from a dream. He looked about and at the concerned faces. He then stood up and let out a laugh.
"This is it! That wormhole led me right to it!" he placed his arms wide in a cheerful way, "I'm here! I found it! I found the thirteenth colony." Then his face contorted and turned sharply and looked at Steve, "My Viper! Where is it?"
"You mean your ship? They have it in Area 51 and are reverse engineering it." he informed.
"I have to get back to the Galactica." he stated. "The Cylons will find Earth and if they get here first…" he tailed off in fear. "I have to get back to my ship."
Steve stated, "Let's slow down for a minute, John. What are you talking about? The thirteenth colony."
Apollo laughed, "It's you. It's Earth! We've been looking for you."
Steve asked, "We?"
"The other twelve colonies." he explained. "The war with the Cylons. They destroyed our twelve home worlds. The thirteenth colony didn't stay with the others and legend has it they settled on a planet in another star system. Far away from the Cylons. We've been looking for it. A place to call home." he tried to explain.
Sam held up a hand, "Wait! A place to call home. You mean like you guys are gonna invade us or something?" She began to wonder if healing him was a bad idea after all.
"Not invade." he assured. "There isn't much left. It's just the Galatica and a bunch of rag tag ships with refugees looking for a new home. We are trying to find Earth, the thirteenth colony. I have to get back to my ship. I need my viper." he insisted.
Steve stated, "You ship is not flight worthy. It was destroyed on impact. John…you hit hard. You came in hot from past the moon and took out another vessel before crashing."
"I know! It was a Cylon scout ship. They are looking for Earth too." He then looked to Sam, "They want to invade and kill as many colonist as possible. The Cylons will invade Earth with or without nanites. The Cylons are an Artificial intelligence race. They were named after their inventors, reptilians called Cylons but they died out a long time ago. The Cylons' invention lived on and evolved. They want to wipe out all humans."
"Great!" Sam winced. She looked to Tony, "The Cylons are a race of Terminators who want to invade us."
Tony pointed out, "And he stopped them." He motioned towards Apollo.
Steve started, "John…"
He looked him in the eye and stated, "My name is Captain Apollo of the Galatica. My father is Commander Adama of the Galactica. You will take me to my viper, Colonel."
"Alright." he agreed.
Karl spoke up, "Can we all go to Area 51 too and see the viper?"
Steve gasped, "You kids should go home."
"Ah' man! Just when things are getting good too." he complained.