Chapter 94

Stringfellow Hawke led his recently rescued brother, Sinjin into the hangar upon returning with Caitlin and his father, John. The found Tony and Rhonda were present and sitting at the table with Dom and Sam enjoying a cup of coffee and some donuts.

"Tony! Rhonda!" String greeted the pair. He was used to seeing Tony drinking coffee and visiting but he found it odd that Rhonda was present for no apparent reason.

Sam spoke up, "An orb buzzed Rhonda and imprinted her like Tony was."

String paused and glanced at Sinjin for a moment.

"Seems I'm not the only one they buzzed today." Sinjin assessed. "They got me too. I know who you are, Sammy. It's me…Dad." He then glanced down at himself, "I'm young and thin again."

Sam sat stunned for just a moment, "They buzzed you too, Dad?"

"On the plane." he nodded. "I guess they brought me up to speed. My last memory was going to bed last night with your mom and that dang cat that Caitlin picked out for you for your birthday. I left Hannibal in charge on the other end." He raised a finger, "And that cat is a pain in the butt." He looked to Caitlin, "Fluffy should be sleeping with you, Cait. You brought it home."

Young Caitlin smirked, "I'm allergic."

He rolled his eyes, "Sure ya are. It wakes me up at 3 am to be fed."

"It's a cat." she shrugged amused.

"Focus here!" Sam requested. "The orbs gave my father and Dr. Blake their life time memories last night. Why?"

Tony stated his theory, "To counter the Cylon tech. It's a military tactic."

String had to agree, "The key to any military operation is good intel. This operation spans decades and generations. Give key players certain intel and you have advantages over your opponent."

Rhonda added, "I'm a medical doctor. I don't have a lab and equipment but I can make clinical assessments and help you, Sam."

Tony agreed, "Having a neurosurgeon at hand is a plus."

"It is!" Sam nodded.

Dom spoke up. "You all know what this is like? It's like the orbs transported you through time but only mentally. Kind of like when Airwolf slipped though to the Korean War and the MASH 4077th helped us. That changed a lot. With Sam's class having the advantage of knowing the future, now Sam isn't alone and she has others to bounce ideas off of. Tell String about the cyber attack idea, Sam."

She spoke, "Tony and Rhonda came up with an idea to use a cyber attack to blind the Cylon basestars that are blocking the Galactica from entering our solar system."

String looked to Sinjin. They both nodded in agreement. "That's not a bad idea!" String stated.

Sinjin suggested, "Ziggy and KITT can launch the cyber attack. They can attack critical systems on the basestars. That would give the Galactica an advantage."

Dom added, "And a lot safer than trying to get a shuttle to them."

Tony admitted, "Had I not been imprinted, I would no idea what a cyber attack even is. I never would thought of that when I was a kid."

Rhonda grinned, "You are still a kid, Tony."

He rolled his eyes annoyed.

"You were so cute back then." she teased him.

He cocked his head, "What? I'm not cute when I'm old?"

She assured him, "You are still cute."

Sam added, "Heck! Tony looks like a movie star. He could pass as James Dean."

Tony beamed.

Rhonda warned, "Don't inflate his ego too much, Sam."

String asked, "Do you even know who James Dean was, Sam?" He was rather surprised at the reference as he was well aware of the movies that were popular in the future. He then looked to his brother who stood nodding.

Sinjin stated, "Sam got into all the old classics. She even got into Glenn Miller for a whole year." He looked to Dom, "No wonder you two get along so well. She has your taste in movies and music."

Dom cheered, "My great niece as my taste in just about everything! She's a Santini after all. She even likes summer sausage and cheese."

Rhonda soured, "That stuff is not really very healthy. You should eat more salads, Sam."

She reminded her, "I'm a Santini. We all eat unhealthy. It's genetic."

"Heart disease can be genetic too!" Rhonda rebutted alarmed at Sam's diet.

Dom waved it off, "No Santini ever died of a heart attack. Matter of fact, we live to be in our nineties. We have good genes."

Sinjin spoke, "And Hawkes have good genes too."

"But I've seen her diet." Rhonda rebutted. "She lives of coffee and cinnamon rolls. She eats pizza, pasta and loads of carbs. That's not healthy."

Sam stood rather crossed as Rhoda assessed her diet. She gave a displeased look.

Tony came to her defense, "Least she's not doing edibles and drugs. She doesn't smoke or drink and she doesn't eat candy all that much. She's a good kid."

Sam squinted even more annoyed, "Kid!" Her mind reeled as she realized Rhonda and Tony were both only physically younger than she.

"True!" Rhonda agreed. "But she could lay off the processed foods. Matter of fact…so could most of us…including me. My diet wasn't great when I was a kid either. I would skip meals to lose weight after I partied all weekend and drank." She then pondered more to herself that anyone else. "I can eat better and not party so much. I got a second chance to do it all over again. I can avoid some mistakes."

Tony asked, "What mistakes do you want to avoid?"

She confessed, "That last man I dated before I met my husband." She then cocked her head, "I haven't met my husband yet either." She glanced about, "I don't have a car. I'm a kid in high school now. Boy, this is harder than I thought it would be."

Tony smirked, "I know. Having a car helps."

Rhonda asked, "Got a spare car I can drive?"

He shook his head. He then mentioned, "Sam used to ride a bike to school before Caitlin started driving her. Borrow that!"

Rhonda gave a displeased look. "Ride a bike, Tony!"

"You just said you could be healthier." he reminded her.

John Hawke spoke up, "I got a spare bicycle in the hangar. You can borrow it, Rhonda. Maybe you and Sammy can ride to school together?"

Sam's eyes grew wide. "I can drive myself."

String smirked, "You still don't know how to drive a stick."

"I will work on it when I get time." she huffed. "I'm a little busy right now."

Rhonda spoke to John, "I'll take the bike."

Monday

School was back in session and Ralph's class was not what it appeared. The police officers who were sent in undercover were pulled from the assignment as Archangel had closed the case on the future money with an excuse that it was nothing but a prank.

KITT returned to class as well as he was now able to do far more in the new form of a teenager to assist with protecting Sam and her engine. For KITT it was another mission and at the same time it would allow him to experience human interactions as a human. He relished in the new role and in his own research into humans as a species. He was no longer an outside A.I. simply observing but now actively participating in the human experience as the nanites technology enabled him to experience all of the human senses including taste, smell and even pain. Under the guise of a foreign exchange student, KITT was able to stay with Mr. Hinkley and attend the school.

February was upon the class and KITT was now not only a witness but soon found himself inadvertently participating in a human ritual called Valentine's Day as it wasn't long before his teenage appearance and British accent garnered the affections of many teenage girls in the school.

KITT made a strategic move to get attention off Sam and the video tape by promoting himself as a new student from the United Kingdom. Adopting as much British charm as he could muster from his access to a library of British films and media he made a identify for himself as Kitt Carson, from Whales.

Sam stood in the hallway of the school after securing her jacket in her locker. She watched on in surprise as KITT turned on the British charm and had the students eating out of his hand in a metaphorical sense. He stood before a group of teens in the hallway, dressed rather dapper in tan dress slacks and a yellow button down shirt. He spoke all about the United Kingdom as if he actually had lived there.

KITT declared, "My first shock upon arriving in the United States after crossing the pond was the sheer lack of public transportation. In England we have a robust buss system. At first I thought that Americans must be the healthiest bunch this side of the pond for you must walk everywhere. Then I discovered nearly everyone here has a car and hardly anyone walks. Thus, my first goal in America is to get my driver's license and drive myself. Hence, I need to know more about taking the drivers education class the school offers and getting this learner's permit." He then looked upon his wrist watch, "I must be getting to class now. I shall bid you all farewell until lunch." He excused himself and walked down the hallway to the class.

Sam over heard two girls talking as the stored their jackets in the nearby lockers.

"He's so cute." one of the girls chimed.

Her friend added, "That accent is so hot."

Sam cocked her head and muttered to herself, "America gets its first A.I. and everyone thinks he's British." She then began to walk towards her classroom. As she walked she spied a poster on the wall for an upcoming Valentines dance at the school. She muttered, "1985 can not be over soon enough." She then heard a familiar voice from behind.

"Hey Sam!" It was Johnny Lawrence. "Wait up!" He jogged to catch up to her.

She looked over at him as he walked down the hallway with her. "Johnny." she greeted.

"You got a date for the dance?" he asked her.

She shook her head, "No."

"Go with me." he suggested.

"Um…" she winced not expecting to be invited.

Johnny didn't hesitate. He then told her, "Great. I'll pick you up at seven."

"Ah…" she was about to tell him no.

"See you this weekend." he told her. He then gave her a peck on the cheek and quickly diverted to his next class.

Sam came to a dead stop in the hallway. "What the hell just happened?" she asked herself. "Now I got a date with Johnny…the karate guy." She shook her head hard and forced herself forward to class.

Hinckley's Class

Ralph stood before Tony, Karl and Rhonda as the three came to class early to debrief Ralph on the orb encounters. He stood before the trio who on the surface looked like normal teens. He puffed his cheeks.

"So, all three of you have been imprinted with memories all the way up to 2022." he assessed.

Rhonda nodded, "My last memory was of getting to bed after twelve hours in the O.R.."

Tony added, "Same with Sam's dad, Sinjin. Last memory was of going to bed."

Ralph sighed, "I wish I knew who or what is controlling those orbs."

Karl agreed, "Be nice to get some solid answers instead of just theory."

Ralph looked to Rhonda, "You sure you will be okay? I can't imagine what this must be like for you. Wake up and suddenly be a teenager in high school again."

"It's an adjustment." she agreed. "Glad I got you as my teacher though. You know I'm not really a kid. The other teachers don't know and I'm sure I would not tolerate being treated as one."

Karl agreed, "I kind of understand what it must be like for Sam. Having to pass as a sixteen year old kid when she's an adult with a PhD."

Rhonda laughed, "And me being jealous of her thinking she was trying to steal my ex boyfriend." She rubbed the side of her head, "Heck, she can have Tony!"

Tony crossed his arms and squinted, "What? You would not fight for me!"

She laughed.

He pointed, "That's cold."

"I would do everything in my power to fight for you and save your life if you were sick, Tony. But that whole teenage romance thing…" she laughed at how silly she was as a teenager.

Karl confessed, "This is kind of weird. I'm married in my mind. I have a wife and kids but…I don't. I can't even really bring myself to look at another girl. Plus, all the girls in high school are just girls. I don't want to hang around with kids. Matter of fact, I could go for a beer right now."

Ralph gasped, "It's seven in the morning, Karl."

"Been a rough week." he excused.

Jose entered the room next, "Morning Mr. H." He paused and looked at his classmates. "Is everything okay?"

Rhonda informed, "Over the weekend one of those alien orb things buzzed me and now I have all my memories of my life like Tony and Karl do."

"You mean you are old in the head too now?" he asked.

She nodded, "Afraid so."

His shoulders slunk, "My whole class is a bunch of old farts mentally. Man, this is a drag. You guys used to be so much fun before you got imprinted."

Tony balked, "We can still be fun."

"You are like an old man, Tony. You're no fun anymore." he soured.

"I can still be fun!" he insisted. He did not like being told he was no fun.

Karl inserted, "Hey! We can have more fun now than when we were kids. Now, we know what stupid things will get us in trouble and what fun things we can do that are not stupid."

Jose sighed, "My class used to be so cool. Now they are just old folks in young bodies." He went to his seat and plopped down.

Rhonda rolled her eyes and shook her head amused.

KITT entered next and greeted. "Good morning, Mr. Hinckley. Fellow classmates."

Ralph replied, "Morning KITT. Rhonda had an encounter with an orb yesterday morning and it imprinted her."

"I am aware." he assured. "I was present for the briefing in the hangar. My network allows me access." He took a seat and waited for Sam to enter next. He looked to the door, "Samantha should enter now."

On cue Sam walked through the door still shaking her head and wondering how to get out of the date. She greeted, "Morning everyone."

Jose asked, "How did you know when Sam was walking in, KITT?"

"Simple deduction using basic math." KITT replied. "I noted how far she had to walk at the pace at which she walks and made my calculations."

Sam took her seat and looked over at KITT. "You timed me walking?"

"Indeed." he informed. "That way I can calculate where are at any given time in the building. It's part of my security protocol."

"Not sure if that reassuring or terrifying." she admitted. "Johnny just asked me to the dance that is coming up."

Tony stated, "Just tell him no."

"He never gave me a chance. He basically just told me what time he was picking me up." she explained.

Rhoda fondly recalled, "Johnny was so cute when he was in high school. Him and Daniel really had a thing going back then…I mean…now…" she puckered in thought feeling a bit confused herself.

Sam asked, "How do I tell him no?"

Rhonda smirked, "Hell…I would go if I were you."

Tony rolled his head back annoyed.

"Why?" Sam wondered.

Rhonda stated, "You never went to high school and missed all those dances. Aren't you supposed to go as part of your cover to be a 16 year old student and not a time traveling inventor?"

"I suppose…" she tailed off thinking.

Tony stated, "If you really want to go to that dance, Sam then I will take you."

Rhoda grinned, "Oh' honey. You are taking me. We got a second chance to be teenagers and we are going to have fun with it. Jose just said we were acting like old folks and we were no fun anymore." She looked to her friend.

"Fine!" he huffed. "We can go and keep an eye out for Sam."

"But I really don't want to go." Sam explained.

Rhonda stated, "It's a school dance. You will have fun."

Sam disagreed, "Fun for me is flying Airwolf and camping at the air shows. This doesn't sound like fun. The dance sounds lame."

"I'm sorry!" Rhonda retorted, "But most teenagers do not fly top secret attack helicopters form the 80's at air shows. Now, you are going to that dance and you will have fun just like your mother ordered."

"I take it you were chatting with my mom in the future." she assed.

"Yes!" she confirmed. "Your mother told me how sheltered you were growing up. She wants you to actually experience having friends and going to high school." She looked to Tony, "And since me, Tony and Karl are all adults who are reliving our youth…we can help you with that."

Sam shook her head in disgust, "You guys are really no fun."

"Tell me about it!" Jose agreed.