Chapter 93
Dominic Santini stood at the stove near the rear living area in the hangar cooking breakfast for himself and Sam. He wondered if she was drinking the night before at the beach party though he was aware she brought a thermos of coffee and her favorite treat.
Sam emerged from her bedroom wearing the clothes she had on from the night before. She looked rather tired and wandered over to Dom upon smelling food.
He glanced over at her, "You sleep last night?"
She confessed, "I drank too much coffee and was awake until three."
He laughed a bit, "Least you weren't out drinking beer all night."
She made a face, "I don't like the taste of beer." She leaned against the counter top and pondered out loud. "Why does everyone smoke so much in the 80's? Man, you never know how bad that smells until you are exposed to it left and right."
"Long as you don't smoke." he cautioned.
"I have no desire to smoke." she assured him. She then wondered, "Any word on saving my dad from the POW camp yet?"
"They raided the camp last night. Extracted Sinjin and a few others." he informed. "He will need some recovery time and to be debriefed since this is young Sinjin we are talking about."
"I bet this will be a shocker to him." she agreed. "Sometimes, I wonder if it would be easier to just imprint my parents like Tony was imprinted."
Dom puckered in thought, "I wonder if that would affect you in anyway?"
"How would it affect me?" she asked.
"If they get together sooner then maybe you could end up with a brother or sister in the future." he suggested.
She waved the notion off, "I doubt it. I wonder if Cait and String will have kids?" she cheered. "That would be so cool."
"They would make good parents." he agreed tending to the eggs. "Hand me those two plates."
Sam held the two plates out as Dom served up the food. The pair then went to sit down and eat at a small table. As they ate Sam confessed, "You know something, Uncle Dom. Sometimes, I wonder if I am dreaming all this and in reality I am passed out on the hangar floor and the engine exploded when it caught fire."
He replied, "If you are dreaming all this, Sam then you somehow brought me into that dream too. I wonder if this is all a dream myself sometimes. Maybe I had a heart attack while cleaning those parts and this whole thing is just my imagination."
"I know the feeling." she agreed. "Like Alice in Wonderland."
"I'll say." Dom agreed.
She paused in thought, "I wonder what it has to be like for Tony and Karl. They are both now imprinted and know the future. That's got to be a head trip."
"They seem to be okay." Dom noted. "Dr. Blake would be the one to monitor them but she's just a kid here."
"Yeah, she would be a big help if she was Dr. Blake and not some high school kid." she had to agree. "But I won't make that command without her permission."
Dom agreed, "Sometimes…it's best to show restraint."
As she ate she asked, "What did you do to these scrambled eggs, Dom? They are light and fluffier."
"I ran out of milk so I added a little water to them." he informed.
"These are good." she told him. She jested, "You could do a cooking channel on You Tube, Uncle Dom."
He grinned, "I bet I could. I could be the next celebrity chef. The Flying Chef." he came up with a name.
"I can be your camera crew." she suggested. She found small talk with her uncle always uplifted her spirits.
"Of course!" he agreed. "Might have to take that spot from String through. He likes to film things and he's real good with them digital cameras and that internet thing."
She confessed, "It amazes me how easy it was for him to pick that up. It's like he was born before his time." She cocked his head, "He would fit right into the future, wouldn't he?"
"He already does." Dom agreed. "Finish up. Cait will be here soon. Got work to do."
"Right." she agreed.
Meanwhile
Teenager Rhonda Blake was asleep in her bed. She had a long night at the beach and enjoyed her rest. As she slept a soft glowing orb entered her bedroom after going through a solid wall. It hovered above her head for a moment. Then it gently lowered onto her skull and pulsated for a moment.
Rhonda began to wake. She found the orb was resting on her head and giving off a soft glow. She could not move and felt paralyzed briefly. Then the orb left by shooting straight up through the ceiling leaving no signs behind. She felt as if she was in a dense fog for a moment. Then the memories came rushing into her young mind as the orb had imprinted her with her future self. She slowly sat up in the bed and squinted in thought. "Did Sam just give a command for me to be imprinted without my consent or did they do it on their own?" She peeled back the covers, "I better get to the hangar." she figured.
She then quickly threw on her clothes and in her adult mindset she went to grab her car keys. She paused as she realized she didn't have a car to drive as she was still in her bedroom from when she was a teenager. "Ah, damn. I need a ride." She went to the phone sitting by her bed attached to the landline. She smirked, "Damn…I remember this old pink phone." She squinted, "What was Tony's number back then? Oh yeah!" she recalled it. She started to dial and noted, "Damn…I forgot how long it took to dial a phone number." She then held the phone to her ear.
"Hello!" Tony answered rather brightly.
"Tony!" Rhonda exclaimed. "I need you to come pick me up and drive me to the hangar."
"Is something wrong?" he asked concerned by the stress in her voice.
"I just woke up with this glowing orb thing on top of me and it did something to me. I remember my life now. I think it imprinted me like you and Karl were." she informed. She glanced around her room, "Damn…this is strange. I'm in my old room from when I was a kid." She then looked at herself in the dresser's mirror, "And I'm a kid again."
"It's a head trip, huh." he agreed.
"Just come get me. I don't have my car." she sounded.
"Be right there." he assured. "Just sit tight and don't tell your parents. They won't believe you anyways."
"I'm not sure I believe this either." she agreed. "Come as soon as a you can. I need to see Sam and find out what happened."
He stated, "I'll be right there to get you. Just sit tight." He then hung up the phone.
Rhonda hung up the receiver as well. She then sat on the edge of her bed and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm not sure I want to be a teenager again." she confessed to herself.
Meanwhile
Stringfellow Hawke waited at the airport with Caitlin and his father, John Hawke for the flight to arrive to bring his brother home. He looked forward to seeing the younger version of his brother once more and was eager to teach him all about flying Airwolf. The one issue that did haunt him was knowing his brother's future. Sinjin would marry Jo Santini, a woman he has known since they were children and have a child of his own, a child who traveled through a wormhole to the past and is now an adult living in the hanger with Dom. Nor was he sure how to explain the wormhole itself or that there is a much older version of his brother on the other end.
Caitlin noticed he was rubbing his hands and a bit jittery. She asked, "You nervous about getting Sinjin back early?"
"I'm wondering how I will explain the wormhole and Sam to him." he confessed.
"I'm sure he will take it all in stride. I just wonder how he will react when he goes through that wormhole and sees himself on the other side." she admitted.
"Me too." he agreed.
John overheard the chatter. "Sinjin will be fine. He's practically running the show anyways." He then grinned, "Now I got my son on both ends of that wormhole." He then looked to String, "And with any luck, you will be there too in the future."
"I'll be there." he promised.
Down the concourse they spied young Sinjin walking towards them. His hair was cut short and he was clean shaven, wore new clothes of jeans and a blue button down shirt as he was treated well after his rescue. His hair was still brown and he looked good over all.
Caitlin squinted, "I never realized how little Sinjin aged in the future until now. Only difference is he has more gray hair on the other side of the wormhole."
String grinned, "I know. He looks good."
Young Sinjin called as he approached, "String! Dad!" he looked at Caitlin and gave a slight smirked.
Caitlin found the smirk odd but String and John were too busy welcoming him home.
String hugged his brother hard, "You're home." he told him.
"I'm home." he assured.
"Son!" John then also wrapped his arms around Sinjin.
After releasing the embrace Sinjin looked directly at Caitlin and stated, "Nice to see you again, Cait."
She cocked an eyebrow for she never met Sinjin when he was young. She was told she would meet him in the future when Dom came through the wormhole the first time.
String looked a bit confused, "This should be your first time meeting her." he noted.
"It is…kind of…" he informed. "On the flight here I was taking a nap on the plane. I was woken up by this very strange sensation. I opened my eyes and this glowing orb was buzzing my head. It didn't go through my head, just rested on it. One of the guys saw it. It wasn't there long, just a few seconds. I was bit foggy as first then it all came to me. My whole life right up to 2022!" He stated, "I think our little friends imprinted me like what happened to Tony."
String figured, "The orbs debriefed you for us."
"I guess." he agreed. "When I got on the plane I thought I was just freed and going home. When I got off that plane, I knew there is a whole lot more to all this."
John wondered, "Does Sam have any control over the orbs or just those invisible nanites things?"
String answered, "Just the nanites. Something else is controlling the orbs." He then motioned, "Let's go. We don't want to gain an audience."
Hangar
Sam stood at the sink washing the dishes after eating breakfast with Dom. It was a Sunday and the business had not scheduled any jobs for the day so Dom was rather surprised when he heard a knock at the side door.
"I'll get it, Sam." he mentioned and stood up from the table where he read the Sunday newspaper.
She nodded as she finished her simple task.
Dom walked to the side door and opened it to reveal Tony standing there with Rhonda. He cocked his head, "Morning! Sam just ate. Is the class doing something today?" he wondered for he did not expect the pair.
Rhonda stated, "The orbs. They are back."
He opened the door wide, "Get in." he instructed.
Rhonda walked inside with Tony behind her. She glanced about, "Where is Sam?"
"Doing dishes." he replied.
A slight smile crept across her face, "Dr. Hawke…genius inventor, is washing dishes."
Dom assured, "Sam does chores all on her own. I don't have to tell her to do anything. I usually cook and she washes the dishes." He then wondered, "Why are you two kids here this morning?"
Tony and Rhonda traded glances for they were both cursed with an adult mind in a teenage body as a result of the imprinting.
Rhonda stated, "I was imprinted this morning by one of those orbs that buzzed Airwolf and went through Sam at that air show. I need to see her."
Dom gasped, "An orb attacked you too, Rhonda?"
She clarified, "It didn't seem to be attacking me. It didn't go through me like it did with Sam. It just touched me and then left. Now I remember my life right up until last night when I went to bed after doing a 12 hour surgery on a man with brain tumor. I have all my memories and everything I learned right up to the year 2022."
Tony stated, "An orb imprinted Rhonda like I was imprinted when I stepped into the accelerator."
Rhonda added, "So…Tony and I only look like kids. We're both your age mentally, Dom. The question is, did Sam have anything to do with the orbs coming back?"
"I sure she didn't but you can ask her." he told the pair. He soon led them to the back of the hangar where Sam just finished washing the dishes. She dried her hands and turned to greet them.
"Good morning!" she gave a warm smile to her friends. "What brings you by this morning?"
Rhonda stated, "One of those orbs visited me this morning. I woke up and it was resting on my head. It imprinted me like how Tony was imprinted."
She cocked her head concerned, "The orbs are back and one imprinted you, Rhonda?"
She nodded, "Were you aware?"
She shook her head, "No! I had no idea." She grew concerned, "Now I am wondering what the orbs are up to now and why they did that to you."
"I don't know." Rhonda agreed. "But…I am a doctor and I suppose I could use this for research." She then reminded herself, "Of course I would need a lab and equipment that I do not have right now."
"And a car." Tony added with a smirk.
"I miss my Beamer." she confessed.
Sam stated concerned, "Now over half the class has been imprinted with their future selves. The only one not affected by the nanites so far is Jose and he's the one I asked them to help."
Tony told her, "Don't you get it? This a military tactic."
"How?" she asked bewildered.
He explained, "The nanites are surrounding you with adults who can help keep you safe. I'm former military. Karl is former military. Jose never went into the military. Rhonda is a doctor. Mr. H. has the suit. You are in the high school as a cover to protect your identity. That cover has been jeopardized by those tapes of Airwolf. These nanites are A.I.. Maybe the orbs too. They seem to have a mind of their own, don't you think?"
She slowly nodded, "The nanites are making counter moves. It's like we are players on a grand chessboard. Ziggy is an A.I.. KITT is an A.I.. The Clyons are an A.I.. The Kobol nanites must be A.I. as well." she determined.
Rhonda agreed, "Seems it."
Dom figured' "Now we got Artificial Intelligence screwing with us."
Sam theorized, "If you have an Artificial Intelligence war. You will use acquire humans and material resources for your efforts. Those Cylons are already here. They are just hiding in the shadows, infiltrating us from within. Instead of wiping Earth out like they did with the Colonies, they decided to take us over instead." She took a seat at the table as she pondered the situation. Placing her chin on the palm of her hand she thought out loud. "What if the 13th Colonel that broke away from the other colonies maintained advanced technology that was kept from the descendants…meaning us."
Rhonda also took a seat at the table as she followed the theory. "The legends of Atlantis, mythology, religions could all be references to something like that, Sam. We could be looking at technology from that 13th colony that supposedly found Earth and we descended from them."
Tony added, "Like secret societies."
"Like that!" Rhonda agreed.
Sam countered, "More like a secret, high tech, society that not only seeded us but is hiding the truth from us. Acting as some kind of guardian. Question is why not tell us the truth about the 13th colony and why hide advanced tech that Earth has?"
Dom suggested, "Maybe the 13th colony did what the Cylons did and let the technology take over?"
Sam grew wide eyed, "We could have our own high tech overlords."
"Seems like a possibility to me." Tony agreed. "Maybe the 13th colony tech lords don't want Cylon tech here?"
Rhoda pondered, "Or they want to concur it and take it over. Hard to tell since we have no idea who or what is behind the orbs. All we got is some tale about Peacekeepers."
Sam sat beside herself. "Now I am wondering? Are all those crazy conspiracy theories about bases on the moon and life on Mars true?"
Tony stated, "The aliens who gave Mr. H. his suit did so in a space ship. I don't think the Galactica is as alone out there as we think."
Sam pondered, "I wonder if our 13th colony friends would help the Galactica if Colonel Austin plans for the shuttle fails?"
"You don't think it will work?" Tony asked her.
She shook her head, "I highly doubt it. First we have to launch it with rockets and that there is a feat. Then there is the media and public perception. A rushed shuttle launch is dangerous. The program lost two orbiters. Those shuttles were never meant to go out of orbit. Never met to land on a ship. It's so risky. We would be further ahead making the Galactica invisible and sneaking her to Earth orbit."
Tony asked, "Why can't we do that? We blind the Clyons with a cyber attack so the Galactica and sneak on by."
Dom perked up, "That could work. And a lot safer than sending String and Sam into space on a orbiter."
Rhonda agreed, "A cyber attack would be safer than launching a shuttle."
"I'll need to speak to dad." Sam agreed nodding.