A RESEARCH WORK AREA NEAR THE MIDDLE OF THE MOTHERSHIP
Scott was winded. He was getting more practice with his powers in the last ten minutes than he had in the last year. Focusing his concentration through the metal ball he held in his right hand, Scott was able to use his powers to pick up one of the small lab tools and send it speedily towards one of the drones coming through the open door. Just before it got to his intended victim, he changed the energy holding the tool to a slightly different wavelength so that it could pass through the defense screens around the Borg's body.
His father, Paul Forrester, had shown him that trick, which really surprised him. Usually, his father was against violence and adamantly against killing, but in this situation, it seemed more like a merciful release.
As the drone's body fell to the floor, Scott made the count of six Borg bodies in the doorway, four in the outer hall and three just inside the room. "A few more like this and we'll have the door blocked with their bodies."
The Doctor shook his head. "They would just try another means of entering."
Kyle agreed and began moving some more of the benches around, with Leela's help, for protection in case the drones came at them from another angle.
"We just can't sit here!" Jenny pointed out with a note of fear in her voice. "Those things will just keep attacking until-"
Paul used his power to cause one of the drones to fall fatally in the hall. Reaching over, he pulled his wife to him, to comfort her as much as him. To kill was an abomination to him. But the Borg themselves were also an abomination. Fighting like this was hurting him more than he could say. Even worse, he was allowing his son to take part in this brutality. "Only two things matter right now. The time we have had together as a family and keeping those things out there from hurting other people." He was trying to keep it simple, even though he knew it wasn't.
Kyle knelt down in back of Elizabeth. He didn't want to disturb her since she was focusing her powers to block those trying to come through the door. Turning to the Doctor, he asked, "Which is more important to them right now: us or the colossal frisbee over there? Because if it is us, then I say we give them a run for their money right now and leave."
"Unfortunately, both." The Doctor popped a jellybaby candy in his mouth. "Since we proved ourselves to be so formidable, the Borg have become interested in us as individuals. And when the Borg find something interesting, they absorb it."
"So we can't leave it and the Borg guys are too insistent on recruiting us to just let us go," stated Scott. He was taking a moment to gather his strength. "Too bad the stargate thing wasn't smaller. We could take it with us." He risked a look over at the doorway even as Leela shot down another drone. "Hey, how'd they get that thing in here anyway?"
"Pardon?" the Doctor asked.
"How did they get that," he pointed at the stargate, "in here? I mean look at it, those doors are nowhere near the size they would need to be to bring star-thingie in here. The halls weren't big enough either. So how did they do it?"
"Ah!" The Doctor's eyes widened in excitement. "So you surmise that if we deduce how the Visitors brought the stargate into this room, then we may be able to move the stargate out the same way!"
"Um, yeah. Sure. That's what I meant." Scott turned back to face the Borg. He had decided that the Doctor was just a little too weird for comfort.
"K-9! Scan the structure of this room. Try to determine how the stargate device was brought into this room."
"Analysis complete, master," chirped the computerized dog.
"That was quick," commented the Doctor. "Well, out with it already."
"Scanning reveals that this room is actually a shuttlecraft. The wall opposite to where the drones are trying to gain entrance is actually a loading ramp."
"Wonderful!" cried the Doctor. "Now where are the controls?"
Jenny put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "What are you planning on doing?"
"Quite simple, really," said the Time Lord with a smile. "We'll just use the controls to disengage this research shuttle from the mothership and fly it away from-"
"But what about the hole the Borg made where that door used to be?" asked Kyle. "The mothership has taken off into the atmosphere. We're most likely in outer space now. If we separate now, we are all dead!"
"Yes," the Doctor nodded, wide-eyed and a serious look on his face. "If we remained in this room, we would be dead. That is why we will be leaving."
Scott looked confused. "But how will we be able to use the controls to detach it from the mothership?"
"Ah!" said the Doctor. "A very good question. WE won't. K-9 will be the one operating the controls. Since he does not need air to breathe, K-9 can safely see to the separating of this warehouse-sized research vessel and should be able to bring it back when I summon him by radio. Does that sound like a good plan to you, K-9?"
The little canine-like unit did a quick scan of the controls of the detachable room-vessel. "The hypothesis is within my abilities to perform, master."
"Good boy, K-9," complimented the Doctor. "As for the rest of you, listen carefully..."
They didn't take long because the plan was very simplistic. Paul, the 'starman', kept the drones away from the doorway while the others moved to the other side of the room. Once there they entered the ventilation shaft that Diana had escaped through earlier. At that point, Elizabeth, the 'starchild', and Scott, the 'starboy', used their powers together to cover Paul's escape to where they were. Once they were all there, the three of them would use their powers to send the desks flying at the door the Borg were insisting to come through, effectively barricading it for at least a short while.
While this was all going on, K-9 was preparing the warehouse-sized vessel for takeoff. Once his companions had entered the ventilation system of the mothership, K-9 had all access hatches to the mothership sealed except for the one that the drones had destroyed upon entering the room.
With a sudden drop, the research vessel was free of the mothership. All the air flooded out into the blackness of space, pulling off the desks that had barricaded the open door. K-9 stayed put, his magnetic locks keeping him snuggly fastened to the floor even as the last of the air left the room.
Alone, the ever vigilante K-9 began strolling around the room to familiarize himself with the area like a good guard dog. Satisfied that there were no more enemies to deal with, K-9 parked himself in front of the stargate and waited to hear from his master.
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CRYOGENIC STORAGE AREA
The Hulk roared loudly. The Resistance fighters that had been setting up to repel the Borg attack suddenly found themselves having to reposition themselves from the green goliath that had suddenly appeared between them and their enemy.
"Don't shoot!" Samantha jumped up between her fellow Resistance fighters and the Hulk. She caught Jack O'Neill's eye where he was coordinating the placement of more men and women. "Shooting him won't stop him and it will only make him angry at us."
Everything seemed to stop. The Humans waited for orders. The Hulk was taking in his surroundings and looking at the loud yelling woman who didn't seem to be a threat to him. However, the Hulk didn't like all the guns pointed at him and he was growling at the soldiers. The Borg drones had stopped and were scanning the Hulk from a few yards away trying to determine if this was a new species or not, as well as determining how to process him.
"How-" began Captain O'Neill, but Samantha interrupted him
"Just let the others be the aggressors. The Hulk, the green giant guy, will take care of them. If we were to attack him, it would be disastrous." To emphasize her point, she placed her hand on one of the hanging gel packs next to her which still contained a Human host.
"Stand down, men!" Captain O'Neill commanded. "Lower your weapons but keep them handy."
The Hulk continued to look at the soldiers suspiciously. Taking a step back, he bumped into one of the cryogenic gel packs with a hibernating black man inside. The Hulk went to touch the curious looking object, but something inside him made him stop.
Movement behind him drew his attention back to the strange pale people slowly moving toward him. The Hulk roared at them but they continued toward him, failing to heed his warning. The closest drone, a Visitor who had most of his scaly face revealed, extended its tubules for implanting the Borg nanites.
The Hulk immediately recognized the tubules as a weapon even if he didn't fully understand their function. The Hulk lashed out with one of his arms, hitting the drone back into the metal wall. The drone fell to the floor like a broken, cheap, plastic toy.
The Hulk roared loudly again, expecting his attackers to run away. However, to his surprise, his strangely attired foes did not even hesitate to close the distance between them. By now all the drones had out their tubules extended from one of their arms. One drone fired a beam meant to stun him, but the Hulk just shrugged it off and became angrier.
The Hulk looked around for something to throw at the drones. He was about to grab one of the cryogenic gel packs, but something inside him stopped him again. Another energy beam of higher intensity hit him in the shoulder and the green mass of muscle howled in pain and anger. The Hulk stepped away from the gel cocoons and prepared to take on his enemies hand to hand.
Samantha ran forward, keeping low, pushing one of the carts they had been using as a gurney. The Hulk turned to intercept her thinking she was attacking him as well. Samantha prayed as fast as she could in her head asking God for guidance and protection. "Use this," she told the towering green man. She pushed the cart the last couple of feet towards him. "Pick it up and throw it at them," she shouted as she pantomimed what she was trying to get him to do.
A Borg laser beam struck Samantha in the chest, dropping her, unconscious, to the floor. The Hulk howled in outrage at the attack on the defenseless female. He grabbed the cart with his right hand and swung it like a bat, killing two drones instantly. Then he hefted the cart over his head and threw it at three drones just entering the doorway, blocking the door temporarily with the wreckage.
A remaining drone stepped forward, closing the remaining distance between them. It reached forward with its prosthetic arm, bringing its weapon to play. The Hulk grabbed the device and squeezed it until it began to crumple in his hand.
Seeing an opening, the drone stabbed outward with his other arm. The tubules entered into the Hulk's abdomen, injecting the nanites. Bellowing in pain, the green behemoth's fist slammed down on the drone's head, effectively crushing the drone like a soda pop can.
The Hulk looked up but didn't see anyone else trying to attack him. He reached a hand down to his stomach and gingerly touched the green blood that was there. He winced a little at the pain but dismissed it. His pains always left him after a little while.
He looked down at the young blond woman that had been shot by the Borg. Kneeling down, he could see that she was breathing, but for some reason, he was still worried about her. He gently reached down and scooped the unconscious woman into his arms. Looking over at the Resistance fighters, he noticed that some of them were wearing the same red clothing as the woman in his arms. He took a couple of steps toward them, watching for any signs of hostility. In his experience, most people were hostile towards him. Especially those with guns like these people had.
"Everybody, hold your fire!" Jack O'Neill stood up from where he had been taking cover. He slowly put down his weapon and made sure that the large green man saw him doing it. Taking a deep breath he stepped toward the Hulk. Briefly, he wondered how Dr. Baker had become this monstrous thing, but put that thought aside as irrelevant to the moment.
He saw the patient that Samantha had been working on cowering from the creature's sight behind another gurney. But for some reason, O'Neill didn't think the man was hiding out of fear but because he didn't want to distract it.
Behind the Hulk, a figure slowly got to its feet. The Hulk and O'Neill both looked over at a horrific sight. Dr. Mark Greene was slowly getting to his feet. Tendrils of gray cybernetic veins covered his pale skin. A zoned-out dead look was in his eyes. And he just stood there waiting. For something.
The Hulk turned back to O'Neill. O'Neill took a step forward to take the young woman from him when the Hulk suddenly doubled over in pain. The captain quickly grabbed the girl before the green giant hit the floor. Quickly backing away, O'Neill watch as the emerald beast-like man convulsed on the floor leaving deep dents wherever he kicked or hit.
Setting down Samantha, O'Neill motioned to one of the remaining doctors to look at her. Looking back at the bizarre battlefield, the captain checked to see what was happening.
The Hulk had stopped thrashing about and had propped himself up against a wall. He was breathing heavy and his eyes were closed. Even as O'Neill watched small gray veins slowly spread from his abdomen to the rest of his body.
From behind the gurney, Jack McGee watched in horrific fascination at the events transpiring around him. The girl had taken his advice and actually got the Hulk to fight the strange invaders, but now the Hulk seemed to be infected by whatever it was that had zombified the other doctor. "I can't believe it!" he said to himself. "The Hulk is turning gray!"
The nearly naked reporter started to climb to his feet. "He can't just sit there. He'll die!" Despite a slight vertigo feeling, he started to hurry over to his longtime prey. "Get up, you green buffoon! After all these years, I'm not going to catch up to you just in time to write your epitaph!"
He stood right in front of him, but the Hulk was ignoring him. As they both watched, the grayish veins had spread almost entirely across his chest.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Desperate to do something but not wanting to get within reach of the creature's long green arms, McGee scooped up some of the gel that remained on his chest and flung it at the sitting beast.
The Hulk was startled and looked up at the loud man before him.
"That's right! Look at me! Jack McGee, reporter at large! Writer of numerous stories of a giant, green man!"
The Hulk felt another spasm of pain and looked down in incomprehension at the gray veins on his chest.
"Oh no you don't!" McGee took the small blanket from around his waist and twirled it until it was nice and tight, then snapped the Hulk on the bottom of his foot.
The Hulk howled in anger. McGee snapped it again, only this time he got the Hulk on the side of one of his calves.
"Are you insane?" hollered O'Neill at the naked reporter.
"Shaddup! I'm working here!"
Jack lashed out again, snapping the emerald behemoth in the chest. The creature made a grab for the material, but McGee was too quick for him.
"You are not going to just lie down and die, you stupid beast!" taunted the reporter. Noticing the Hulk's angry expression, McGee decided to up the ante and tagged the creature hard on the nose with a quick shot.
The Hulk growled menacingly as he got to his feet.
"That's right! Come to poppa!" McGee slowly moved backwards, but still made snapping gestures with the blanket to egg the Hulk on.
An explosion knocked him off his feet. Coughing and dazed, he tried to right himself and see what was going on. The first thing he saw through the smoke was that the Hulk had not been knocked off his feet, but was standing just a few feet from him. Secondly, the Hulk's attention was not on him but on the place where the explosion originated.
Stepping through the wreckage of the formerly blocked doorway were more of the Borg drones. The Hulk roared in anger as he flexed his muscles. McGee wasn't sure with all the smoke, but it seemed that the gray growth on the Hulk's chest had stopped spreading and may have possibly started receding. Maybe he had been right. Maybe all the good Doctor Banner needed was to get the gamma radiated blood flowing to heal whatever it was that had infected him.
Deciding that it was most likely not in his best interest to stay there, McGee began crawling his way over towards the Resistance fighters. "Anyone got a blanket? I seem to feel a draft all over."
O'Neill ignored the naked man's request and was busy organizing the men and women around him. "Aid the green thing however you can, but do not get near it. And for now, do not trust it. It could possibly attack us as easily as it attacked whatever those things were."
He noted the damage to a couple more cryogenic packs near the fighting. "I also want as many of those cryro-pods opened as fast as we possibly can. Get on it."
He looked down at a doctor that was examining Samantha. "How is she?"
The doctor looked up with a tired look in his eye. "She seems fine. Whatever it was that hit her seemed to just stun her." The doctor looked relieved. "I guess they don't want to kill us."
O'Neill looked over to where the Hulk was bashing two drones with the body of a third. And to the side O'Neill noted another drone leading the zombie-like Dr. Mark Greene away. "No," he answered. "They don't want to kill us. They seem to have another use for us altogether."
He left one of his men in charge while he went to find the radios that they had brought with them. He needed to have a talk with Ham Tyler.
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LYDIA'S OFFICE
Lydia's office was more crowded than usual. Although the people that said they were a part of Starfleet had gone to help fight the Borg problem in one of the Cryogenic storage areas, there were still a number of people standing around the room, most of them with hostile or hurt feelings towards the Leader, who sat in Lydia's chair.
So far communication with places outside the mothership was fine. To solve the problem of intraship communication, the Resistance fighters were using radio waves boosted by relay systems that they had spread around the ship as they went.
The Leader was having a hard time accepting defeat. He had had a short talk with Tyler over the radio and the frustrating Human was determined that the Leader was not leaving the mothership. 'The Fixer' was all for evacuating unessential personnel in light of the Borg threat, however, he had also stated that if the Leader so much as stepped foot outside of Lydia's office that Tyler would shoot down every shuttlecraft that tried to leave.
"How dare he risk my life!" shouted the Leader as he voiced his outrage.
"What's the matter?" George Fox sat a few feet away where Juliet treated his superficial wounds. "Don't you like being a hostage?" George had ceased playing possum once his captors had been over taken. He had been more than happy to reveal all the things he had overheard Lydia and the Leader talking about. Including the mental conversion of Lydia.
The Leader scowled at the human, but didn't dare do anything at the moment. There would come a time. All he had to do was wait and seize it. Then there would be a great deal of payback.
Lydia gently rubbed the back of the Leader's neck. "Shouldn't you be coordinating the attack of the other motherships?" she pointed out.
The Leader opened a channel to his own private mothership. At least he could vent his frustrations by killing these Cylon invaders.
Donovan walked over to a sulking Philip who was leaning against the wall glaring daggers at the Leader. "I won't ask what you are contemplating. All I ask is that you at least wait until after these Borg and Cylon threats are over before doing whatever it is you are going to do."
Philip shook his head. "I can't kill him, Mike."
Mike thought about it for a moment. "One of those hypnotic block things to prevent assassination?"
"I wish it were that simple. No." He looked around at a number of other Visitor Fifth Columnists that were talking to Daniel Jackson, Samuel Beckett and Al Calavicci. In a far corner, he could see Willie still trying to console Thelma over the recent revelations. "I've been told that when news spread that the Leader was dead, many of my people began sinking into a deep depression." He took a sip of water to relieve the dryness in his throat. "A couple of hours ago, a large number of suicides were reported from every mothership."
Mike was horrified. "You don't think he set it up that way, do you? So that your race would end when he died?"
Philip shook his head. "No. But I do think that because of the way that he has been using his power that my people have become very dependent on him. And unless there is some type of closure, many of my people will have no will to go on. He can't die a second time."
"Is there anything we can do?"
"Nothing comes to mind. But I pray to Zon that He send a guiding hand to save His people."
Mike felt a little awkward. "I didn't know you were religious."
"My mother was. I had always thought I was some sort of cultural foolishness. But now, I'm not so sure. I think that in my youth I just didn't want to face the possibilities and responsibilities of being a believer. I guess I felt that as long as I didn't formally become a follower of Zon that I couldn't be held accountable for any sins in my life." He took another sip of his water. "What about you?"
"Religion was never big with my mother. She was more into the luxuries life had to offer than spiritual matters."
"So you've never... thought of a higher power?" the alien asked his Human friend.
Mike paused. "Sometimes late at night when I can't sleep. Or after a battle and I see one of the other recruits praying. Personally, I think I'll get around to seriously thinking about it when I'm older."
Philip shook his head. "It's rather sad, isn't it?"
"What's that?"
"That people like you and me, who live very dangerous lives, still put aside important matters to consider later. Even when we know later may never come for us." Philip finished his glass and put it down on a nearby shelf. "I'm glad I stopped putting it off. I think you should reconsider it, too."
Mike hated awkward subjects like this. "I'll think about it."
"You do that. I'm going to see if Willie is having any luck comforting Thelma."
"Alright." Mike sat down and watched his friend walk across the room. Glancing over at the bound and gagged figure propped up near him in a corner, he saw the cuffed Lieutenant James scowling at him. "So tell me, do you spend a lot of time praying?"
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THE BRIDGE OF THE MOTHERSHIP
Ham was feeling good. He had risked his life and the lives of his men on a mad scheme to take over this mothership. Now he was risking them again. This time, however, if he didn't succeed the Earth was surely doomed.
Ham Tyler looked at the viewscreen to study the dozens of motherships circling his ship. "Hey, Hugo, what do you call someone who thinks he has enemies all around him just waiting to attack?"
"Uh, paranoid," answered the young Visitor.
"Wrong. He's perceptive."
"I don't see-"
"Take me for example," stated Ham. "If you Visitors don't get me, then the Borg will. If not them, they most likely these Cylons that we have never heard of before. And if somehow I survive long enough to get back to Earth, the politicians and other riffraff will try to get me for one reason or other. I'd probably end up retiring and then the boredom would kill me. Or worse. I could end up finding a woman." He took a moment to cross his arms and take in a deep breath. "Once a woman has you, you are as good as dead already. You just don't know it," he said, half-heartedly.
"Ham Tyler! You're as much a pessimist as ever!" Coming through the main entrance to the bridge was an old acquaintance from Tyler's past.
"George Hammond!" Ham walked over and shook his hand vigorously.
"That's General Hammond to you, Tyler," joked Hammond.
Tyler took a moment to look him over. "You've lost weight."
"There has been a war on, you may have noticed."
"Haven't heard from you in a while. Thought they got you."
Hammond nodded. "They did. They left me in a holding cell with your friends Mike and Juliet. We were lucky to find such resourceful people to help us out of there."
"Yeah, Gooder was telling me about that on the radio."
"'Gooder'?"
"My nickname for Mike because he's such a do-gooder. Trust me, he has worse names for me."
Hammond nodded. "From what I hear, you've earned quite a few of them."
Tyler smiled. "Don't believe everything you hear. I don't."
General Hammond ran his eye over the different activities at the various consoles. "So show me what you have put together here."
"Afraid I can't do that."
"What? I'm a superior officer!"
Ham nodded. "Yes sir, you are. However, you also were also a prisoner here on this ship for a while."
Hammond sighed. He knew where this was going. "You're saying that Diana may have converted my mind."
"There is that," admitted Ham. "There is also the fact that you were just in close contact with the Leader."
"And he may have changed my loyalties with his mental abilities." Hammond sighed. "You really have to do something about that paranoia problem of yours."
"Trust me. It's no problem. And if you were in my place you would be wondering the same thing."
They stood there in silence for a moment as they thought about the matter. "Fine. You're in charge," agreed Hammond. "It's only fair since you set this all up in the first place."
"I think you'll like what I have in mind."
"Sir," called Hugo. "We have a visual on the Cylons. They are coming in fast."
Hammond followed Tyler over to the captain's chair. "Have you tried talking to them?"
"Yes," answered Ham. He sounded too distracted to give the general's questions much thought. "Talked with some robot named Lucifer, if you can believe that. He gave a mild apology and said there was nothing he could do at this point but conclude his mission of exterminating all of mankind and its allies."
Hammond's eyebrows raised. "But the Visitors aren't our allies."
Ham gave the general a smile. "I wasn't about to point that out to them. As it is now, the Visitors are fighting with us."
"I see." As they watched the screen, other motherships started moving into position. "So what is the game plan?"
"I've been doing some planning with the Leader by radio. He has a number of proven plans for fighting with motherships. Our mothership will stay in the rear because we have the Leader on board. The captains of the other vessels insisted. Besides, I don't know all the damage that the Borg problem has caused to the interior of this vessel."
As they watched, thirty Visitor motherships moved to confront the four Cylon BaseShips. The first mothership dove underneath the BaseShip, delivering round after round of blasts from its laser batteries with little effect. Two more motherships went after the first, firing as they passed by. Shots from the BaseShip severely damaged sections of the second mothership's hull causing it to veer away.
"Not good," remarked the general.
"But now we know what they are capable of."
"And what we are not capable of," pointed out Hammond. "We're sitting ducks for the Cylons."
"That would be the case except that the Leader brought back a rather dangerous surprise from Sirius IV."
As they watched more motherships flew by the Cylon vessels, but at a greater distance. The barrage of laser batteries struck with minimal effect. Before the Cylons returned fire, one of the motherships attacked with a different weapon. The Cylon BaseShip that had been hit exploded like a supernova, knocking the three remaining Cylon vessels off course.
"What was that?"
Ham smiled. "A Particle Beam Triax. Remember, the Visitors used it to blow up Jupiter's moon, Io, to try intimidate us."
"But if the motherships have that type of power then why are they bothering with the weaker laser attacks?"
"Because the other motherships aren't armed with Particle Beam Triaxes," explained Tyler. "The Leader only let a few be made so he alone could be in control of them."
Hammond looked out at the fleet of ships. "So now the enemy knows which vessel has the Triax weapon on it."
"Do they?" asked Ham.
The motherships were flying amongst themselves like a small tornado.
"What are they doing?"
"Better question is can you tell me which ship has the Particle Beam Triax now?"
Hammond laughed. "The old shell game! The Cylons won't know which mothership to shoot at! No wonder they call you 'The Fixer'!"
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FOOD PREPARATION AREA
Boomer was not having a good day. He and his men had taken over the Food Preparation Area easily enough, but that was when things had gotten complicated. They had found twelve workers in the area preparing four humans, a horse, two cows, a hippo, fourteen cats, fifteen dogs, and three porpoises, all freshly dead and cut up alongside cages and jars containing live specimens of thousands of various rodents, lizards, amphibians and insects for consumption. After capturing all the workers and getting the right ones to work on Chris Farber to treat his heart attack, with a modest amount of persuasion, one of Boomer's Warriors found the pantry where the Visitors held seven live Humans that had been going to soon be food for the Visitors. They were in shock to say the least and wandering around looking in horrific fascination at everything around them.
"It's enough to make me wish we were still on the island," murmured the redhead in a white evening gown. "At least the headhunters we met there were expected to be barbaric."
The short brunette had gone over to the corpse of the large black horse and began crying. "I've dream of seeing horses again for so many years and… and to finally find one butchered like this!" She fell to her knees sobbing, yet without looking she reached out to take a handful of the horse's mane.
The redhead quickly went over to her friend and quietly did what she could to console her friend while eyeing daggers at the red-uniformed Visitors that were across the room.
The thin red-shirted man quickly hurried over after grabbed something off one of the nearby tables. "Hey," he said in a quiet soothing voice, "look what I found. I think this was high on your list of things you wanted to see again, right?"
The brunette lifted her head to see the squirming little basset hound puppy her friend was holding out to her. Without even thinking she let go of the dead horse's mane and pulled the live puppy close to her face where she began covering it with tears. Not to be outdone, the little puppy reached up and began licking her face.
A large heavyset man wearing a blue T-shirt and white pants patted the thin man on the back. "Good job, little buddy," he complimented quietly so as not to disturb the brunette woman.
The thin man just nodded and wiped away a tear of his own. "We should put a sheet over… over everything. Cover all of this. No one should ever see something like this."
The heavyset man nodded grimly and pointed over to some tablecloths that they could use.
Another thin man that had introduced himself as Roy Hinkley was curiously watching over the shoulders of some of the Visitors working on Chris Farber. Cassie, Boomer's informal Visitor liaison, was having a little difficulty keeping the inquisitive man away. Boomer was just about to ask him to step back so they could do their work when he noticed the last two members of the group step up to him. They were an older couple, but the man seemed a little too sure of himself and Boomer wasn't sure he liked that.
"Pardon me, my good man. The others say that you are the one in charge around here. My name is Thurston Howell III and this is my wife, Eunice Wentworth Howell, though I call her Lovey." He smiled broadly at Boomer for a moment, but when he noticed that it was having no effect he started talking again. "Now, for all your efforts to rescue us from these… these… uncouth creatures, I'd like to award you with a million dollars!" He stepped closer as if to whisper something to him in confidence. "Of course to collect this reward, you would have to make sure my wife and I get back safely to the United States. The New England area preferably. Or near Wall Street if you can manage it."
"Now, Thurston," interrupted his wife, "we really should go home first to make sure everything is where we left it."
"Yes, dear," agreed the man, "but we should also make sure that all our stocks are still there, too."
"Certainly they will be there. The stocks are always on Wall Street. Where else would they have gone?"
Thurston's face took on a little concern. "Oh, there are places they could go. That's why we should check on them first." Turning from his wife, Thurston put an arm around Boomer's shoulder. "And this is the man that will get us there! Right?"
Boomer's eyebrows furrowed. "What's a dollar?"
"What's a dollar? What's a dollar?" He grabbed towards his heart and gasped, stumbling back a step.
Mrs. Howell quickly helped her husband over to one of the empty carts nearby and helped him lay down. "Oh, now look at what you've done!" she accused.
As Boomer began verbally defending himself from Mrs. Howell, Mr. Howell was regaining his composer. Turning his head to see what was next to him he found himself staring in the still eyes of one of the butchered porpoises. "Aiiiiieeeee!" Leaping up from the food cart, the old millionaire almost fell into the arms of Boomer, but instead knocked them both over.
"Oh, dear." Mrs. Howell looked around for help. "Professor? Skipper? Gilligan?"
Professor Hickley came over filled with excitement. As he helped the two fallen men up, he explained his exuberance. "The device they are using to correct that man's heart problems is fascinating yet very simplistic! I believe I could build a crude version out of coconuts and-"
"No!" shouted Mr. Howell. "I never want to see, taste or even hear anything concerning coconuts ever again!" The rest of the former-castaways, except for the short brunette woman and the skinny man, agreed wholeheartedly with the millionaire. Mary Ann had saved all her notes and had been planning on writing a book when they were rescued called '1000 Ways To Use Coconuts In Your Diet.' Gilligan, however, had become so accustomed to coconuts that he was addicted.
The seven of them had been stranded together on an island for over twenty years. Their only contact from the rest of the world was by radio. It was from that very radio that they had heard about the alien Visitors and the attack on the planet. It had only been a few days ago when they had been gathered around their bamboo dining table eating one of Mary Ann's coconut cream pies when a Visitor shuttlecraft flew overhead and 'rescued' them.
One of Boomer's men was starting to come over to see what was going on, but Boomer waved him back. He wasn't sure what the old man's problem was, but he was sure he could handle it.
Mr. Howell turned to state his problem to the others. "How can any American not know what a dollar is?" He turned to address Boomer again. "Did these aliens do something to your mind?"
Boomer shook his head. "I'm not an American, whatever that is. But I am Human like you even though I grew up on another planet called Caprica. My people have been searching the stars for the lost colony of Man for yahrens. Now we have arrived here on Earth and we are prepared to help you, our long lost cousins."
Boomer let all that sink in for a moment. Turning to the hefty man wearing the blue shirt who seemed most likely to be in charge, Boomer found that he was unsure how to address him. Unlike his people, these distant relatives of his seemed to all have more than one name for themselves yet they seemed to only use one of those names when being addressed. He had to decide whether to use the name Jonas or Grumby in his address to the man, but unfortunately he hadn't noticed any patterns in how the others addressed each other. Oh well, he thought, it's probably safer to be formal. "Mr. Grumby-"
"Call me Skipper!" he laughed awkwardly. "Everybody does, cousin!"
Boomer barely kept his eyes form rolling. "Skipper, the man that has taken over this vessel, Mr. Tyler, is currently evacuating this vessel of all nonessential personnel. As soon as Chris Farber's heart treatment is over, we will be taking you all to Earth."
"Wait a minute," demanded Ginger Grant, the former movie star. "Aren't we on Earth now?"
Boomer shook his head. "We are currently in space near the Earth, but there is a major battle going on so it is not safe to remain here. The Visitors and the Humans have set up a temporary truce right now due to the attack of another powerful force called the Cylons. I have personally seen the Cylons wipe out entire worlds before. Because of the danger they represent, we are evacuating everyone that we can from the defending ships."
Jonas was furious. "If we have a truce with the Visitors, then why are they still carving up people like that?" he gestured toward the tablecloth covered corpses on the food carts in the middle of the room.
"Hear, hear!" agreed Mr. Howell.
Boomer sighed. "Communication is down throughout most of the mothership. The Visitors that," he shuddered slightly but continued, "work in this area never heard that the truce was on again." He looked over at the Visitors who all seemed to be very busy working on restoring Chris Farber's heart and trying hard not to appear to be listening to every word the others were saying. "At least that is what I am hoping is true. If I find out otherwise…" He left the statement to the imagination of the Food Preparers.
"What about the other people?" asked Mary Ann.
"What other people?" asked the Colonial Warrior.
The short brunette led him over to the panty door and carefully opened the door with one hand while juggling the young puppy she carried with the other. Leading him to the back, she showed him twenty gel sacs containing people and a few large animals.
"They're alive," pointed out the professor. "The gel seems to be keeping them in some form of hibernation."
Boomer sighed. "Alright, I'll have to get some of the Visitors in here and have them start reviving as many of these people as we can. But as soon as I say we have to go, we are leaving."
"I played a nurse in the movies before so I could help!" exclaimed Ginger.
"I've helped treat all types of animals back on the farm in Kansas!" pointed out Mary Ann.
"My husband has financed the construction of a new hospital before!" Mrs. Howell added in the excitement.
Mr. Howell gently pulled his wife to his side. "I rather doubt they need financing on this project, dear."
Boomer just walked out of the pantry to round up all the available Visitors to get working on reviving everybody in hibernation. Meanwhile, his mind tried to figure out at what point he had lost control of everything.
Characters in order of appearance or mentioned:
Hayden, Scott (Christopher Daniel Barnes) – from the TV series Starman (1986-1987)
Forrester, Paul (Robert Hays) – from the movie and TV series Starman (1986-1987)
Doctor, The 4th (Tom Baker) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1974-1981)
Leela (Louise Jameson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-1978)
Hayden, Jenny (Erin Gray) – from the movie and TV series Starman (1987)
Bates, Kyle (Jeff Yagher) – from the TV series V- The Series (1984-1985)
Maxwell, Elizabeth (Jennifer Cooke) – from the TV series V- The Series (1984-1985)
K-9 Mark I (voiced by John Leeson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-?)
Visitors– from the TV series V (1983), V: The Final Battle (1984), V- The Series (1984-1985)
Hulk / Banner, David (Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno) – from the TV series The Incredible Hulk (1978-1982)
Carter, Samantha (Amanda Tapping) – from the TV series Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007)
O'Neill, Col. Jack (Richard Dean Anderson) – from the TV series Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007)
McGee, Jack (Jack Colvin) – from the TV series The Incredible Hulk (1978-1982)
Greene, Dr. Mark (Anthony Edwards) – from the TV series ER (1994-2002)
Lydia (June Chadwick) – from the TV series 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)
Tyler, Ham 'The Fixer' (Michael Ironside) – from the TV series V: The Final Battle (1984), V- The Series (1984-1985)
Fox, Agent George (Michael Cavanaugh) – from the TV series Starman (1986-1987)
Parrish, Juliet (Faye Grant) – from the TV series V (1983), V: The Final Battle (1984), V- The Series (1984-1985)
Donovan, Mike (Marc Singer) – from the TV series V (1983), V: The Final Battle (1984), V- The Series (1984-1985)
Philip (Frank Ashmore) – from the TV series V- The Series (1984-1985)
Jackson, Dr. Daniel (Michael Shanks) – from the TV series Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007)
Beckett, Dr. Sam (Scott Bakula) – from the TV series Quantum Leap (1989-1993)
Calavicci, Adm. Al (Dean Stockwell) – from the TV series Quantum Leap (1989-1993)
Willie (Robert Englund) – from the TV series V (1983), V: The Final Battle (1984), V- The Series (1984-1985)
Thelma (Marilyn Jones) – from the TV series V- The Series (1985)
Zon (the Visitors name for God) – from the TV series V- The Series (1985)
James, Lt. (Judson Earney Scott) – from the TV series V- The Series (1985)
Hugo – a Visitor of my own creation
Hammond, Major General George (Don S. Davis) – from the TV series Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007)
Lucifer (Felix Silla) – from the TV series Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979) (mentioned only)
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)
Grant, Ginger (Tina Louise) – from the TV series Gilligan's Island (1964-1967)
Summers, Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) – from the TV series Gilligan's Island (1964-1967)
Gilligan, Willy (Bob Denver) – from the TV series Gilligan's Island (1964-1967)
Grumby, Jonas 'Skipper' (Alan Hale, Jr.) – from the TV series Gilligan's Island (1964-1967)
Hinkley, Prof. Roy (Russell Johnson) – from the TV series Gilligan's Island (1964-1967)
Cassie – a Visitor of my own creation
Howell III, Thurston (Jim Backus) – from the TV series Gilligan's Island (1964-1967)
Howell, Eunice Wentworth 'Lovey' (Natalie Schafer) – from the TV series Gilligan's Island (1964-1967)