HALLS ON THE STERN SIDE OF THE MOTHERSHIP
The Visitor known as The Leader staggered down the hall. His head was reeling from the hours of fighting to free his mind from the half-breed, Elizabeth. The grazing shot from the Human idiot chasing him had not helped matters either.
As he turned into a different corridor, the Human behind him fired another shot that missed him completely.
Gasping for breath, he suddenly found himself surrounded by armed soldiers. They were saying something to him, but he wasn't quite sure what at the moment. Then he realized something else – something important - these were his soldiers!
"Take your hands off of me!"
Two of the soldiers who recognized him complied immediately and helped to pull off those who hadn't been as quick to realize who they were grabbing. The Leader steadied himself with a hand against the wall as he tried to get his bearings.
Just then George Fox rounded the corner and bodily ran into one the soldiers.
"Seize him!" shouted the Leader. All of his anger at his own soldiers was forgotten at this sudden change in roles with his pursuer.
"My - my lord, we had - had thought you had been assassinated!" exclaimed the ranking officer.
"Do I look like I've been assassinated to you!?"
The officer couldn't help running his eye over the Leader and seeing his ragged appearance and the green blood on his arm.
The Leader turned away to examine his new prize. He caught his breath and drew himself to his full height. "I'm going to take much joy in torturing you," he said with a grin to George Fox.
Fox struggled to break free from the two red-uniformed soldiers, but he found it pointless against their superior alien strength. He'd been held captive before. He knew he would just have to wait for the right time for escape, and meanwhile divert his captors' attention elsewhere. "We'll see. That is, if your would-be killers don't find you first."
The Leader cursed in his own tongue and turned back to the officer. "Where is she? Where is that she-crivit?!"
"Great Leader, who do you mean?" asked the terrified officer.
"Diana! Who else would dare try to kill me?"
The officer gasped in surprise and fear. "I - She had been arrested for that crime, great Leader, but-"
The Leader growled. "But?" he asked, eyeing the guard with burning orbs.
The officer knew he had no choice but to continue. "Lydia freed her when she found evidence that Philip and the Fifth Column had conspired with the Humans to kill you-"
The Leader roared in anger and everyone else leapt back in terror. "I'll have both their scales for this!"
Fox tried to make a break for it, but one of the guards slammed him against the wall and the FSA man, though hurt, feigned being unconscious.
The Leader's mind was elsewhere, though, and gave the attempt little thought. "Take me to Lydia immediately!"
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CRYOGENIC STORAGE AREA
Jack placed the blanket respectively over the woman's body. He leaned down with a cloth and wiped away the gel from her eyes and ears. "What is she doing in this section? She's just a kid." He looked her over again. "Well, I guess she could pass for eighteen, but not by much."
"A lot of kids have been joining up. I hear that the recruiters have orders to take anyone who they think can actually survive in the field a few days." The doctor listened carefully to his stethoscope for a moment to check her vitals. "Personally, I think most of them just end up as cannon fodder." The doctor was busy cleaning his equipment as he prepared to move to his next patient. "Well, I opened her airways. She should be coming around in a minute or two," Mark responded to Jack O'Neill's unasked question.
"Any problems yet?"
"None. Once you understand how it all works, it's a very simple procedure to do. She will have been the eighth person that I've revived." He paused by the cart that his equipment was on. "I do wish that Tyler would have let us bring up more than five doctors. We'd get a lot more up and running that way."
"Be glad he went for this wild idea of your at all, Dr. Greene."
Mark just shrugged. "We all got to do our part. Besides, he'll probably give you the credit since you were able to find the section where they kept all the hearty military and Resistance types." Neither of them really cared about the credit. For them, it was about saving the Human species and getting the Lizards off of Earth once and for all. Mark spotted one of his men waving for him, so he mumbled a quick 'see ya' and left O'Neill with the woman.
Jack began wiping the young blond woman's hands clean when he noticed her eyes fluttering open.
"Where...?"
"Relax. You're with friends."
She groaned. "Last thing I remember... last thing I remember..." She had been on patrol with her team. Suddenly laser flashes were everywhere. Friends of hers had fallen down stunned or dead at her feet. She heard a sound and... Her eyes opened wide and she tried to sit up, but O'Neill kept her down.
"Whoa! Friend! I'm a friend!"
"What's happening?" She demanded as she looked around. Hanging everywhere above her were large white gel packs. Inside each gel pack, a man, woman or child was being stored cryogenically. The most horrible thing was that she knew that the people were being stored for freshness. Visitors liked to eat their food alive and healthy.
O'Neill decided he needed to be up front with her right away. It would probably be the only way to get her to pull herself together enough to be of any use. "We've snuck on board this ship. We are trying to free those that have been cryogenically stored, especially those with a military background, and then we'll try to take over this vessel."
The woman looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you kidding?"
"Well, it will at least give those of you who would have been lunch someday a chance at some payback."
"Huh, it's just crazy enough to work."
"Glad you like it. What's your name?"
"Private Samantha Carter. But call me Sam."
"Good to meet you, Sam. I'm Captain Jack O'Neill. Unless there is a superior around, you can call me Jack." They shook hands. Both ignored the oozing gel around their fingers. "There are uniforms over there in the corner as well as weapons. We only have the Visitor red uniforms available. We didn't think to bring spare clothes with us so you should be very grateful for our finding them."
She noticed a few people over there already dressing. "Any idea when we could expect Visitors?"
"At any time. All the more reason for you to get yourself outfitted and armed. Then, when you are ready you could give a hand getting some other people thawed."
She sat up and coughed a little of the slimy stuff she had been stored in out of her airway. Jack left her to go over to another person just waking up, only this time it was a tall black man. She turned away to focus on her own circumstances, but everywhere above her were more people trapped in the Visitors frozen meal packaging. "Oh God," she mumbled as she took in the view. Her being captured by the Visitors should have been the end it - of everything. But now she had a second chance. And she was going to start it on the right foot.
Getting down on her knees while keeping the blanket tightly wrapped around herself, she lowered her head. "Lord... I... It's been a really long time since I've turned to you." Tears flowed freely but she began to feel a lot better as she continued to pray. Better than she had in years.
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THE HALLS ON THE STERN SIDE OF THE MOTHERSHIP
Paul Forrester pulled the unconscious form of the timelord's female companion away from the Borg drones with the help of his son. The little robotic dog, under the direction of the Doctor, wheeled itself between the father and son and the oncoming drones and fired a destructive ray from its muzzle into key areas of the ceiling, causing it to collapse onto their enemy and block their path.
"Paul!" Jenny cried.
"We're fine," answered her alien husband. His eyes darted around taking a quick survey. "Help Kyle with Elizabeth! We need to get out of here, fast!"
She nodded in agreement, then turned to go when Kyle was trying to keep a swaying Elizabeth on her feet.
"Doctor? What are you doing?" asked Paul.
The Doctor had climbed in amongst the fallen wreckage to examine one of the fallen drones. "This could be vitally important," he commented absentmindedly as he fished his sonic screwdriver out of one of his pockets. He didn't even stop for what he was after when the rest of the Borg drones began to force their way through the rubble. Because of his trust in his robotic companion, he allowed himself to totally ignore K-9's efforts to continue causing the ceiling to come crashing down just a little ways from him.
"Master, I am quickly using up my energy reserves," reported the faithful metal unit.
"Let me help you," offered Paul. He raised one of his hands that he wasn't using to drag Leela and focused. He sent out a wave of energy that passed through the rubble and hit the drones, thus knocking them all off their collective feet. "That should get us an extra minute or two since they seem to be so slow moving."
"Ah! I have it!" The Doctor proudly held up the small metal piece that he had taken from the fallen drone.
"What is it?" asked Scott.
"Something that should be able to tell us what the Borg have been up to here on this ship." He slipped both the sonic screwdriver and the piece of machinery from the Borg into separate pockets of his coat.
"Master, the Borg have begun converting this ship into a vessel that will meet their needs."
The Doctor's eyes widened. "But of course! The rising humidity and temperature should have clued me in earlier. They didn't come all the way to this ship just to assimilate the technology and people on board. They want the ship. How could I have been such an idiot?"
"Unknown, Master."
The Doctor cast a glance at the metal unit. "Careful, K-9. I think you are developing a dangerous personality flaw."
"Shall I do a diagnosis on myself, Master?"
The Doctor considered the wall of wreckage before him for signs of the drones progress on coming through from the other side. "Maybe later. Right now I really think we should find another place to be before those drones come through all that."
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A FIFTH COLUMN SECRET MEETING SPOT
Starbuck stretched from his seated position. His backside was becoming numb from lack of blood flow. Still, he had found at least one nice perk.
"So what do Klingon women like in a relationship?"
B'Elanna laughed. "You really don't want to know."
"Sure I do. I've had a few relationships with alien women before." He leaned a little closer to where she sat and gave her his best smile. "And I found each one to be delightfully exotic in her own way."
B'Elanna frowned. She wasn't too keen on this Human's advances towards her. She had run into quite a few men with the Kirk mentality when it came to females of different species and trying to score with as many as possible. Still, it might be fun to scare him. "Well, my people are a warrior race with a lot of fighting involved in everything. For Klingons, there is usually a lot of hitting, biting and scratching involved in just the initial foreplay. Klingon women what their mates to prove their strength and ferocity during sex. In the end, both parties are usually treated for bites, gashes, torn ligaments and possibly broken bones after mating. Every now and then if it has been a truly rough session, one or both of the couple involved could be hospitalized for a while, sometimes due to being in a coma." She flashed him a flirtatious smile at which he recoiled. "Is that exotic enough for you?"
"Ah, well. I've actually got a girlfriend back home, but, ah, I just like to hear about what I'm missing."
B'Elanna held up her hand to show the ring on her finger. "I just got engaged myself."
"Oh," responded Starbuck awkwardly. "Well I'm sure he's a fine Klingon fellow and that-"
"Oh, Tom is not Klingon." She took a sip of her water, and then set it back down. "He's Human, like you."
"-Uh-"
"'You should know I'm actually half Human. About the only thing I have in common with my Klingon ancestors is my temper. And even that is considered mild by Klingon standards."
Starbuck took a sip from his own cup. This conversation was going way beyond his norm. He had a distinct feeling that this woman with the wrinkled forehead was toying with him, but he had no desire to test the truth of any of her statements. It was just supposed to be a good way to pass the time as they guarded the entrance to this hiding spot of the Visitors Fifth Column while everyone else got some sleep. About now he was almost hoping the Visitors would just come and capture them again. The Colonial Warrior sighed and decided to just play it safe and tactfully move the conversation to more peaceful subjects. "So, why did Dr. Crusher react as she did when she saw me?"
B'Elanna's grin slowly left her face. "Well, it's kind of difficult to say."
Sensing that he had somehow turned the tables on her and now had her in the uneasy spot, he decided to press his advantage. "Try me. I'd like to know."
She scanned the area as she determined how to answer that. "Remember when we told you that we travel to different parallel worlds to stop the spread of the Borg?"
"Yes."
"And that we have help brought in from a couple of other parallel worlds to help?"
"Like Sam Beckett and the hologram Al. Yeah, I know all that. Are you going somewhere with all of this?"
B'Elanna sighed. "On the last parallel world that was rescued, one of the guys brought in to help looked exactly like you."
Starbuck laughed. "It's not like I have a copyright on these rugged good looks of mine." He stopped laughing when he noticed that she still seemed bothered by something. "How much like me did he look, exactly?"
"Down to the same retinal patterns. Your DNA also has some extreme similarities."
"So... does this good-looking guy have a name? Or is that the same as mine, too."
She tapped at her PADD for a second. "Templeton Peck a.k.a. 'The Face-Man'. A freelance mercenary. I guess he was quite the ladies' man."
"'Was?'"
"Um, that's where the awkward part comes in." She felt uncomfortable for bringing it up, but she knew that if it were about her she would definitely want to know about it. "He... died fighting the Borg."
He was stunned. It was like the life was just spilling out of him and he didn't know what to do about it. He managed to grasp that somewhere in another parallel universe there had been another him but... "How?" he mumbled.
The half Klingon woman silently scolded herself. She was never good at these kinds of things. She was used to letting her temper flare and getting a lot of room for herself. Now she found herself stuck in a situation where she had to find some way of possibly comforting this guy. "The Borg turned him into a drone. Then when all the drones were... destroyed, he was, too."
"And he looked just like me. Weird."
"Do you want-"
"Have you come across any other duplicates of people?"
"Uh... a few. Why?"
"Well, it's just that you got me thinking. You know that Visitor guy Philip?"
She looked over to Philip's sleeping form on the far side of the room. He had fallen asleep talking to Beverly Crusher about their different races and the possibilities of different alien cultures being able to live with one another in close proximity. "Yes," she answered.
"He looks exactly like a Colonial Warrior I used to know named Ortega. Could Philip be a duplicate of Ortega?"
"I rather doubt it. Remember, even though Philip has an appearance as Human as you or I, it is actually just a fake covering to hide his reptilian features. Is this Ortega a friend of yours?"
"Not by a longshot. We were rivals. And in the end, I was even framed for his murder." He took another sip of his drink. "That's probably why I don't like Philip too much."
They sat in silence for a few moments before the Colonial Warrior broke it. "Is it time to wake the others for their turn at watch?"
"Got another hour."
"Oh." He looked around the room but couldn't find anything to distract him. "So what's this fiancé of yours like?"
"Tom's a pilot. Headstrong, carefree, and adventurous. When I first met him, I hated him, but... he grew on me in time." She sighed. "Personally, I never thought I would ever find someone to settle down with. Most people are turned off by my half-Klingon aspect. Then of course there is my temper." She chuckled to herself.
"Sometimes it can be difficult to settle down even if you do find the right one," commented Starbuck. He thought of Cassiopeia and all the years he had held off getting Sealed to her.
She nodded. "The key is once you find them, not to wait until it is too late."
Starbuck nodded. But he still wondered if it was too late for him like it had been for Templeton Peck.
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LYDIA'S OFFICE
Lydia stared in frustration at the monitor on her desk. No matter what she did the areas of communication on the ship seemed to dwindle. A couple of hours ago it was just a small part of the ship which could have been a problem concerning wiring. But now almost 12% of the ship on the stern side was incommunicado. There was a report that one soldier came running from the area muttering incoherently about the walking dead, but she just dismissed it as a young fool experimenting with Earth narcotics again. Another possibility is that he could have just eaten part of a Human drug addict. The Food Prep division was supposed to be watching for such contaminations, but the 'junkies', as the Earthers call them, are just too numerous. In the end, she wrote the soldier up for a reprimand. What really troubled her was a report that Lt. James and his prisoners were missing. In all honesty, she could care less about whatever happened to Lt. James, but she didn't need the added problem of a bunch of escaped prisoners running around right now. And the only reason Diana didn't suspect Lydia of James's disappearance was because of the mind-controlled guards that were watching her every move.
She looked up from her desk as the door open. She saw a Visitor there who didn't have the fake Human covering on that everyone else wore. She was about to reprimand him, even though he was the most attractive older male she had seen in quite a while, when she suddenly recognized him. Behind the imposing figure of the Leader she could see six soldiers coming in carrying the unconscious Human.
"Lydia! You have much to account for!" yelled the Leader.
"M-my lord! I thought you were dead! We all did!"
"Is that the only excuse you have for your actions?" he demanded.
Lydia swallowed fearfully. She had no problem turning against Diana; the trouble was how to do it in front of her mind-controlled bodyguards and live. The bodyguards is question stood there with looks of confusion. Lydia figured she'd have to do something before they did, or she would never get a chance to do anything ever again due to resulting laser fire.
"Nothing to say in your defense? How unlike you," sneered the Leader.
"Actually I do have a defense. It's just all up here," she replied while tapping her forehead. Meanwhile she thought as loudly as she could at the Leader, DIANA HAS CONTROL OVER THE MINDS OF MY BODYGUARDS! SHE IS THE ONE THAT TRIED TO KILL YOU!
The Leader winced at her loud broadcast. It was then that she noticed his tired and haggard appearance. Even his scales had lost some of their luster.
The Leader gathered his strength for a moment, then unleashed a mental onslaught at the bodyguards in question. All four guards spasmed once and fell limp to the floor. He then turned his attention back to Lydia. "Now where is she?" he demanded.
She didn't need him to clarify his question. Diana was the one he wanted and that was just fine with Lydia. "There have been an increasing number of problems happening around the ship, she decided to look into it personally." She let him mull that over for a few seconds before adding, "Philip was arrested for your... for the assassination attempt." She flinched at the glare he gave her. "He seemed to have a surprisingly close relationship with the Human Resistance leaders. It seemed only natural to believe that he was a Fifth Column member." She averted her eyes from him. She tried to find something else interesting to look at, like the unconscious Human on the floor. "And then when Philip escaped with a number of other important Human prisoners-"
"Philip had nothing to do with my attempted murder," rumbled the Leader as he moved to stand over her private food display. "And you should know better than to lie or even to stretch the truth around me." He grabbed a large tarantula. "Are these poisonous?"
She nodded. "Yes, my lord. But not so much that they are toxic to us."
"Edible?"
"A delicacy, my lord."
He popped it in his mouth and swallowed it whole. "You soldiers. Wait outside until I call you." He didn't even bother to watch as they hurried to follow his order. He then looked over the various beverages that were available, and frowned, not trusting those that he didn't recognize. He settled on selecting a mild drink from his home world, Sirius IV. He gave the unconscious guards another considering look. "Diana was supposed to stir things up here, but not this much."
"You-you wanted her to-to cause trouble?" Diana was good for trouble. She broke peoples' wills for fun. She had even brought Lydia's brother to Earth in order to sacrifice in a cannibalistic ritual just to gain leverage over her. Diana even blew up a shuttle Lydia was supposed to be on at one point. Philip also had had numerous close calls thanks to Diana. Lydia was good at treachery, but for Diana it was practically an art form.
"Certainly. Back home on Sirius IV she quickly became my favorite because of all the deadly games she played to rise to the top at everything." He sighed. Stepping over one of the fallen bodyguards, he took a seat and sat wearily down. "Then after a while of being my favorite, there were no more conquest for her to make. She became moody and our lovemaking became stagnant. So I sent her here. To Earth. Figuring that if she had some worthwhile enemies, she would become the villainous woman that I was drawn to before." He laughed, which startled Lydia. "Little did I know how much she would blossom out here so far from home."
"What will you do with her now?" she asked.
"Discipline her. Teach her the error of her ways. Then I'll see if there is anything I wish to salvage."
"You'll spare her life?" asked Lydia in shock. "After what she tried to do to you?"
He chuckled. He wasn't used to being so open with his thoughts with someone. He kind of liked it. "I'm getting up there in years. Even if I don't show it yet. I need to find a mate worthy of bearing our eggs."
Lydia's eyes widened in disbelief. "You think Diana would make a good mother?!"
He laughed at the very idea. "Another can fill the duty of the actual child rearing. Diana is only fit for the breeding."
"Of-of course, my lord."
"Philip actually is a member of the Fifth Column, by the way."
Lydia let out a heavy breath of relief that she didn't realize she had been holding. "Then we were right to arrest him. He was a traitor."
"He was a member only because I let him be one."
Lydia was confused. "My lord, I don't understand."
The Leader contemplated the frantic two-inch centipede between his fingers. "When you led my forces back to Earth and recovered Diana, I realized I had a rare opportunity. I did a little more research and learned of Martin and his defection to the Humans. I also learned of how Martin died at Diana's hands as he sought to prevent her escape." He took a sip of the mild wine to wash down the wiggling centipede. "I knew that by sending Martin's brother, Philip, to Earth to investigate all the strange goings-on here, I was sure to stir Diana to some mischief."
"So Philip was merely a catalyst. But then what of his involvement with the Fifth Column?"
"Purely his own doing. One that I had not expected, mind you. Before he left for Earth, I spent an afternoon with Philip conditioning his mind and will to be completely faithful to me."
"And he still joined. Why?" Everyone knew of the Leader's mental abilities and how he would sometimes use them to condition someone for his purposes. No one complained. At least not for long. He was the Leader after all.
"My own fault. I encouraged the belief in him that I was a kind and benevolent ruler. That is why he sent messages back to Sirius IV telling me of his belief that Visitors and Humans could co-exist together. He also informed me of the growing number of my people who also held this belief who were joining the Fifth Column. I encouraged him to join to see if it was actually possible to live together with these Humans. He had no idea of my true intentions. I learned more from him then I ever did from either your or Diana's reports. He was a very useful spy even if he didn't know that that was what he was doing for me."
"So he's actually trying to serve a false version of you that he has in his mind. And in his mind that Leader would not be part of the genocide of a sentient species." It was all starting to make sense to her now. There was no way someone as noble as Philip could maintain his rank in the Visitor military without backing by the Leader. But still one thing puzzled her. "Why are you telling me all this?"
The Leader gave her a toothy grin. "Why, to answer your questions and make you comfortable. It's so much easier to modify your mind that way. Don't you agree?"
She nodded in understanding. It made complete sense to her. Even though a small part of her was screaming in defiance inside, she knew that she would follow her leader wherever he went and do whatever he wanted.
"After all," he chuckled predatorily, "I have to have somebody I can trust around here."
On the floor near the door lay the supposedly unconscious body of George Fox who had been listening very intently. He was also very aware that there were no weapons at all near him and that he didn't want to do anything to bring himself to the green, scaly alien's attention. He'd never been more terrified in his mind. To control himself, he began mentally writing a report of everything that had happened so far as well as all had overheard from the Leader. Hopefully, he would survive and be actually able to write it all up. He didn't consider the fact that none of his colleagues from his parallel word would ever believe any of it.
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ARMORY NEAR CRYOGENIC STORAGE AREA
Twenty people in red uniforms quickly moved through the doors of the armory and past the four knocked out guards. The last four to enter each grabbed the feet of the fallen guards and dragged them inside the armory.
Samantha Carter guided her cart down the aisle that Jack O'Neill directed. The armory was a lot larger than she had imagined it would be. People on either side of the cart opened it up and began to move the supplies of laser weapons onto it. Samantha went to load her side with the replacement energy cell clips so that they wouldn't have to worry about running out of ammunition.
"Good idea, Sam. Behr. Wolf. Hoffman. Grab extra clips for each of the carts. If only one cart gets back, at least we will have some extra ammo for the weapons that make it."
Samantha concentrated on her task. The carts had already been used before she had been revived to transport the Visitor uniforms that she now wore. Unfortunately, the uniform she wore had sleeves too long for her, and whatever material it had been made out of would not allow her to roll them up and give her complete access to her hands. In other words, she was dropping things.
"Careful with those, private," snapped O'Neill from where he was overseeing everything. "Some of things exploded pretty spectacularly."
"Sorry, sir," apologized Private Carter.
The cart's original purpose was to transport clean uniforms and linen around the mothership. When the Human invaders found them, the carts were used to bring the uniforms from the ship's cleaning facilities. Now it was decided that they would be the perfect tools to bring more weapons to the cryogenic storage area. The cart opened up on either side and revealed shelves that were perfect for placing clothing and linen. It didn't have the capacity to hold many laser rifles, but the laser pistols were packed in quite nicely.
Samantha worked hard on loading her segment of the cart, but she kept finding that she was having more and more trouble with her sleeves. She took a moment to breathe.
"You all right, Sam?" asked O'Neill.
"Just-just needed a second."
"Right. Relax. Everything is moving smoothly. Just try to do your part and everything will work out just fine."
Samantha almost chuckled. Concern and kindness were not usually the first response a military superior would give to a soldier under them in a combat situation. But then, most soldiers weren't just taken from the Visitors' lunch menu, defrosted less than four hours ago, and then thrust into a very dangerous situation deep in enemy territory. A couple of people that had been revived utterly refused to help and just sat along the sidelines watching wide-eyed at all the activity around them. Two others had snapped completely and attacked anyone near them. One of those had died of a broken neck as they attempted to restrain him.
Just deal with this for now, she told herself. I'll have plenty of time to worry about the future later. She began packing more clips and she could hear O'Neill encouraging someone else at another cart.
As she put the last clip on the shelf, she moved over to help finish loading the laser rifles and pistols. Silently she prayed. We could really use some type of miracle down here. And if you could, could you make it something powerful and noticeable so that I know it when I see it. Sorry to put this all to you like this, God. Especially with me just starting to pray to you regularly. Personally I think us new believers need the bigger miracles to encourage us. Hope you think so as well.
"Alright, everybody." Jack O'Neill stood at the door taking visual inventory over everybody present. "Close the lids on the carts. From here it's just a simple trip back to the Cryogenic area. Try to keep me from being a liar, people. Let's go!"
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THE UNDERSIDE OF THE MOTHERSHIP
The use of the 'magnetic grapplers' was simple in theory. To free the grappler from the metallic hull, you simply push on it, which turns the powerful magnet off for two seconds, so that you can reposition it to a new place. Ham Tyler had four of these grapplers attached to his limbs as he made his way along the underside of the motherside hanging upside down.
Grunting as he moved the grappler on his left knee a little closer, Ham was finally in the position that he wanted. He carefully connected his safety harness to the grapplers on the hull from his hands so he could work on the access panel before him. Behind him, he heard Boomer and two of Ham's own recruits slowly catching up to him. He wasn't able to catch any of the words that Boomer was mumbling to himself, but he was sure that they weren't very appreciative towards him.
He opened the access panel in front of him then brought out a small flashlight. "Let see. Where is it? Ah. Good." He pulled a lever off to one side, which caused the grille in the access panel to move aside. He reached a hand up into the opening to grab a hold of the ladder. It was almost out of his reach because he was being held back by his safety harness so made to lengthen the rope holding him. That's when the flashlight slipped from his fingers. He reached out reflexively to grab it and thus lost the connection he had had with his safety harness around his chest. Ham hung there by the grapplers on his knees while he watched the flashlight disappear from view as it fell down a mile to the abandoned city of Los Angeles beneath him.
The former CIA man took a deep breath as all the blood ran to his head. He felt the wind pulling at him. It would be so simple to just let go and let the fall take it all away. Then he could be with his wife and daughter again. No more problems. No more dirty wars. No more Lizards.
But if he died just then there would still be lizards running all over the Earth. Hurting other people. Killing other wives and daughters.
Ham grunted with the effort that it took to twist himself back up to the grapplers he used for his hands. Now that his safety harness wasn't connected, he could reach up to the ladder inside and pull himself inside with less effort.
"Hey! You all right?"
Ham looked back at the man who claimed to be from a starlost colony of Mankind. Boomer had evidently made some record time trying to get over to him. "Yeah, just great. But watch that first step. It's a killer."
Boomer mumbled something about his being too old for this and wanting to pound somebody named Starbuck for talking him into passing promotion yet again.
Ham ignored him and climbed into the access panel and up the ladder. The ladder went up twelve feet before ending at a platform. He looked from the emergency escape shuttle there down the empty corridor. He had drawn his laser pistol and set himself up as a guard while the others climbed up after him. He let them rest and catch their breath even as he was catching his own. When Ham had thought they had rested enough, he brought out his walkie talkie. "Chris, you there?"
"Yeah, man, we're here and ready to go," came the reply through the static. "Are you where you are supposed to be?"
"Yep. See you soon."
Ham motioned to the others to follow him and he opened the door. All Visitor bridges have three doors. One to enter from the rest of the ship, one for the toilet, and one to get to the emergency escape shuttle. Ham had chosen this last one as his means of gaining control of the bridge. He didn't call out a warning. At least right away. He wasn't worried about accidentally killing a Fifth Columnist here. He had already been informed that Philip was the only Fifth Columnist that had access to the bridge and he wasn't there.
Ham shot down two guards while Boomer winged another one. "Don't move and you probably won't get hurt!"
Boomer covered four men and women who were holding their empty hands in the air. "'Probably?'" he asked.
"Always keep 'em guessing. Makes 'em want to try work with you more." He turned back to the remaining Visitors in the room. "Most of the time."
Boomer was about to question that approach when some shots came at them from the guards outside the bridge. Before they could fire a shot in their defense, more laser shots rang out, this time at the Visitor guards. Within a minute, the Visitor attackers were all dead.
"I see you made it."
"Wouldn't miss it," commented Chris Farber. The large man with the scraggly long beard and potbelly stepped over a dead Visitor. The redhead Visitor technician Cassie followed timidly behind him. A number of other Resistance fighters and Colonial Warriors spread out around the room securing their position.
"You look a little out of shape." Ham looked Chris over. The heavy man was breathing hard and sweating even more.
"He was stumbling before he came in here," Cassie mentioned with a concerned look on her face.
"Just winded," Chris defended himself. "Besides, you know I wouldn't let you down, man."
Ham's attention was suddenly attracted by one of the men guarding the entrance. A small number of unarmed Visitors with hands raised were walking forward.
Ham tilted his head to the side. "And what can I do for you?"
"Hugo!" cried out Cassie as she ran forward and wrapped her arms around one of the shorter men. She smiled brightly. "Mr. Tyler, this is Hugo, my brother, who is also the leader of my cell group. Hugo, this is Mr. Ham Tyler, the Fixer."
Hugo flinched at the mention of Ham's nickname 'the Fixer'. Ham just grinned. "Took you guys long enough. I was beginning to wonder what happened to you."
A tall, white haired man stepped forward and introduced himself. "I'm Arthur. Sorry for the delay. A lot seems to have come up that we have been trying to deal with and investigate."
"Tell me."
Arthur was a little ruffled by the man's take-charge attitude, but he wasn't about to ruffle the feathers of the legendary 'Fixer'. "Philip and your friends have escaped but we are not sure to where so we are having all the hiding spots checked. It does seem to be slow going however since in some areas communication lines are not working."
"Diana's work?"
"We do not believe so, Mr. Tyler. I am told she is demanding explanations for the problem. She is also upset because her right-hand man, Philip, seems to have disappeared with a group of prisoners he was escorting."
"So we might not be the only rabble-rousers running around up here causing trouble. Good." Ham grinned wickedly which caused a number of people in the room, both Visitor and Human, to flinch away. Ham turned his attention to the mission at hand. Now that they had control of the mothership, they had to keep it. "All right people, I need to know-"
"Mr. Tyler!" Cassie called out.
Ham ducked down and swung his laser toward the disturbance just in time to see his friend Chris fall face down on the floor. He was beside his friend in a second. "What happened?"
Cassie was kneeling down on the other side of the fallen man. "I-I'm not sure. He just reached for his chest with a look of extreme pain then fell." She looked around him but saw no wounds. "Why are his lips blue? Is that normal for Humans?"
For the second time in his life, Ham felt like his world was shattering. The first time was when he had heard the news that his Vietnamese wife and daughter had been bombed in an air raid where he had left them safety in a church. Now his longtime friend was having a heart attack before his eyes and he couldn't do anything about it. Or could he?
"Do we have a doctor here?" Nobody answered. Instead most everybody there began looking around with growing concern. "Cassie, any of these Lizards doctors?"
Cassie flinched at the racial slur 'Lizards'. But she did look around. She pointed to one of the Visitor prisoners. "I could be wrong but I think he might be able to help."
The Visitor in question was a tall older looking man who had been pushing a food cart containing large insects and guinea pigs around for the members of the crew to lunch on. At the moment he was glaring daggers at Cassie for betraying him.
"But he's just delivering the food up here. How can he help?"
"He's in Food Preparation," she explained. "It's his job to make sure all food items are healthy. And if not, then to bring it back to health so that it can be consumed. They have to be very versatile in ever food source. Including Humans."
Ham saw the defiance in the Visitor's eye immediately. Ham looked over at Arthur, but saw right away that he was unsure of what to do. Standing up, he went over to the Food Prep alien and grabbed him by the front of his uniform. "You don't like me. Fine. I don't like you either. But I'm going to let you in on a little secret." The Visitor looked at him in confusion. "It's very simple. You save his life, you'll also be saving your own. Understand?"
The Food Preparer's face took on the expected look of fear. "But there is little that I can do for the Human cardio vascular System here," pleaded the alien doctor.
Ham dragged him over to where Chris lay gasping for air. "Then figure something out fast or get somebody here who does know." He pulled the Visitor close so that he could growl into his ear. "Well? Do I just kill you now or are you going to do something to help my friend?"
"Ah-we do have a few-specialist that-that are more familiar with Human anatomy and treating them than I am."
"Call them. Have them come here. With their equipment."
"But the equipment that is needed is bolted down," he protested.
Boomer stepped up. "I'll go with him. My Warriors, too."
Ham let go of the Food Preparer. "If anybody goes with Chris, its me."
Boomer shook his head. "You're needed here. You are the only one that seems to know what is going on."
Ham nodded slowly. "You're right. Take care of him. He's all the family I got left."
"I'll stay with him, too, Mr. Tyler," volunteered Cassie softly from where she sat holding Chris' shaking hand.
Ham was a taken aback by the sudden realization that he found her attractive. Part of it had to do with her wanting to stay and offer comfort to Chris; the rest was her shy, quiet nature, which reminded him of his long dead wife. Still his mind screamed at him, 'She's not even human', but then again a lot of people have said the same thing about him. He cleared his throat to help clear the thoughts from his head. "That would be appreciated, Cassie."
He leaned down and gripped his friend's shoulder. "You hold on, Chris. We'll have you patched up in no time. You don't want to miss the finale, right?" His friend's eyes were closed but his chest was still rising and falling, so he took it as a good sign.
He nodded to Boomer, who had two of his men bring over a cart to wheel Chris on. There was nothing else he could do for Chris right now, but as 'The Fixer' he had other matters that demanded his attention. "All right, people. We got things to do. Now let's get to it."
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THE BRIDGE OF THE BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Lieutenant Sheba switched on her monitor to receive a call from the Battlestar Pegasus. "Commander Bojay. You needed to talk to me?"
The man on the monitor looked grim. "Yes, I think it may be pretty important. One of our scientists on board was doing some experimenting with a new far range sensor system. He seems to have found something following us."
Sheba felt a knot tighten in her stomach. "Cylons?" She had no desire to meet up with their robotic pursuers, especially now that they have almost completed their long odyssey.
"We're not sure yet, but I'm told that it does seem to be about the right size for a Cylon vessel."
Putting her elbows on her desk, she began rubbing the temples of her forehead. "And we were leading them directly to Earth. This news will devastate Adama."
"One of the reasons we should do something about it now before he wakes up," commented Bojay. "First thing I suggest we do is alter our course so that at least they won't find Earth."
"Agreed." Various possibilities crossed her mind. "We could launch a few Vipers and have the pilots verify what they are."
"Tempting," commented Bojay. "But then if they were Cylons, then they would know that we know they are there. I think we should try one of your father's tactics and set up an ambush."
"Which one did you have in mind?" she asked, warming up to the subject.
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SOMEWHERE NEAR THE MIDDLE OF THE MOTHERSHIP
Diana was furious. She had finally gotten everything set up just the way she wanted it with herself in charge of everything and now problems were popping up here and there. She had left a small team of technicians to fix the hidden escape route out of her private holding cells. She had troops searching for the missing Lt. James and the prisoners he was escorting. She had even sent out scores of technicians to fix the communication problems that seem to be spreading around the ship but so far none had reported back to her. Which is why she was there looking for the incompetent buffoons.
She pushed one of her guards out of her way. "Any sign of them, Bruce?"
"None," answered the lieutenant. "But you know how it is with technicians; they could be anywhere trying to track down the problem."
"That is not an answer I am happy with. Now find them," she growled. "And have someone check on why the temperature and humidity are rising in this area."
Bruce nodded and quickly sent off four of his men to work on the problem. Everyone knew Diana loved challenges; she thrived on them. But they also knew that unexpected complications brought out the worst in her. And nobody liked seeing that. The life expectancy of anyone nearby always dropped considerably. Diana was one of those who liked to share their frustrations by taking it out on others.
Diana took a moment to get her bearings. Even she could get lost in a ship of this size. "This is the area where that large item taken from the military compound in Cheyenne Mountain is stored." She mentally kicked herself for not torturing General Hammond for information about the device before he escaped with Philip and the others.
Still, if the item was truly as important as Diana expected it might be, then perhaps the general and his friends might try to liberate it or destroy it. "Come," she commanded. As expected, her remaining guards followed obediently.
She led them through the twisted corridors on her quest the best her memory could recall. "We should have maps posted in vessels this big," she complained.
As she opened the doors to large work area, she froze at what she saw. It wasn't the work area that had the device taken from Cheyenne Mountain, but it did have something else there that took her breath away. "What... what is all this?"
Even as she watched, men and women were walking around putting together new equipment of a style she had never seen. The computers and workstations in the room had already been converted over to this new technology, evidently in order to more easily create these new devices.
The people themselves were something to behold. Everyone walked around in a slow steady pace that was scary in its exactness. They reminded Diana of her first experiments in trying to control the minds of others, but even she could see there was something much more at work here than just mind control. And it scared her. Some limbs had been replaced with prosthetic attachments with possibly analytical or weapons capacity. One eye of every person also seemed to have been replaced with a lens that gave off a red beam of light.
"By the leader's scales!" cried out one of her men. "That's Humphrey!"
Diana looked to where the guard was referring. On one of the tables nearby lay the technician Humphrey, whom she had sent to investigate and fix the communication problems in this area just a few hours previously. Humphrey's false human face was torn around the eye area, revealing a little of the small green scales where the new mechanical eye now rested. Even as Diana and the guards watched, two of the automaton people were reattaching a new cybernetic limb where Humphrey's right arm had once been.
Even though she was repulsed, Diana's recognized a manner of organization and purpose. But since she knew that it was not a part of her design, it would have to be destroyed for now because of the threat it seemed to indicate. Something like this just could not be allowed to go on. At least not until she had had a chance to study it and apply its uses to her plans.
"Shoot them! Shoot them all!"
Her men didn't need any encouragement. Even though the zombie-like creatures had made no signs of even acknowledging their existence, the guards felt threatened just by their unknown nature. What they saw horrified them and they would only feel safe again after the monstrosities to nature were dead. They opened fire with on the drones before them with no regret. Unfortunately, they would soon have much to regret.
Laser blasts poured out in short bursts from their weapons only to be stopped short of their targets by the sudden force fields that appeared around the targeted drones. A few of the guards blinked in disbelief then fired again, only to arrive at the same results as before.
"You fools!" screamed Diana. "Do something!" she demanded as she watched a number of the mutilated and cybernetically enhanced people turned as one toward her and began slowly walking toward her.
Two of her guards that were a little less intimidated as the slow-moving threat charged forward to catch them off guard. It should have worked considering how awkward the drones looked. However, when one of the guards hit a drone in the jaw and caused it to fall, the fallen drone managed to reach out from where it lay and stab the guard in the leg with his extended tubules.
Diana and the remaining guards watched in horrified fascination as the guard clawed wildly at his leg. At first Diana thought that some type of poison had been injected into the guard writhing in pain. But the guard's hands moved from the stabbed leg and up his body as if to stop the pain from spreading. When it reached his head, he began tearing off the fake Human skin covering as he screamed in pain. Diana's scientist eye for detail noted the metallic vein-like substance that could be seen spreading even under the scales of his face.
It was when the guard next to her bolted away that Diana realized that she had been left behind. She was about to pull out her own blaster and shoot the guards down for the audacity of abandoning her when she realized that they would serve her better as bait. She ducked to the side of the door and away from the approaching Borg drones to get at one of the grilles for a ventilation system. "Everybody is always using these shafts to get away from me; its only right that I get to use them to get away from someone, too," she muttered as she climbed in.
Behind her she could hear shots fired and screams coming from her former guards. It didn't bother her. She had other matters on her mind.
Characters in order of appearance or mentioned:
Visitors– from the TV series V (1983), V: The Final Battle (1984), V- The Series (1984-1985)
The Leader (never seen) – from the TV series V (1983), V: The Final Battle (1984), V- The Series (1984-1985)
Maxwell, Elizabeth (Jennifer Cooke) – from the TV series V- The Series (1984-1985)
Fox, Agent George (Michael Cavanaugh) – from the TV series Starman (1986-1987)
Diana (Jane Badler) – from the TV series V (1983), V: The Final Battle (1984), V- The Series (1984-1985)
Lydia (June Chadwick) – from the TV series V- The Series (1984-1985)
Philip (Frank Ashmore) – from the TV series V- The Series (1984-1985) (mentioned only)
O'Neill, Col. Jack (Richard Dean Anderson) – from the TV series Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007)
Greene, Dr. Mark (Anthony Edwards) – from the TV series ER (1994-2002)
Carter, Samantha (Amanda Tapping) – from the TV series Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007)
Leela (Louise Jameson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-1978)
Doctor, The 4th (Tom Baker) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1974-1981)
K-9 Mark I (voiced by John Leeson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-?)
Hayden, Scott (Christopher Daniel Barnes) – from the TV series Starman (1986-1987)
Hayden, Jenny (Erin Gray) – from the movie and TV series Starman (1987)
Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) – from the TV series Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979)
Torres, B'Elanna (Roxann Dawson) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)
Paris, Lt. Tom (Robert Duncan McNeill) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) (mentioned only)
Crusher, Dr. Beverly (Gates McFadden) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) (mentioned only)
Peck, Lt. Templeton 'The Face-Man' (Dirk Benedict) – from the TV series The A-Team (1983-1987) (mentioned only)
Ortega, Flight Sergeant (Frank Ashmore) – from the TV series Battlestar Galactica (1979) (mentioned only)
Cassiopeia (Laurette Spang) – from the TV series Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979) (mentioned only)
James, Lt. (Judson Earney Scott) – from the TV series V- The Series (1985) (mentioned only)
Martin (Frank Ashmore) – from the TV mini-series V: The Final Battle (1984) (mentioned only)
Tyler, Ham 'The Fixer' (Michael Ironside) – from the TV series V: The Final Battle (1984), V- The Series (1984-1985)
Boomer, Lt. (Herbert Jefferson, Jr.) – from the TV series Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979)
Farber, Chris (Mickey Jones) – from the TV series V: The Final Battle (1984), V- The Series (1984-1985)
Sheba (Anne Lockhart) – from the TV series Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979)
Bojay (Jack Stauffer) – from the TV series Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979)
Adama, Commander (Lorne Greene) – from the TV series Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979) (mentioned only)