Date: Thu, 1 Jan 1998 11:49:47 +0000 From: Heather Markham Subject: Aliquantum Salio - Chapters 29-30 "ALIQUANTUM SALIO" by Heather Markham CHAPTER TWENTY NINE Sam raced the sleek sports car along the desert road. He turned the vehicle onto the rough desert track and headed towards the the place where Churnik died. Dana was sitting beside him clutching at his arm, Al appeared to be sitting behind her intently watching through the window, He winced every time Sam hurled his favourite toy over a piece of rough ground. "Hey, I know we're in a hurry but watch out for my car will ya!" Suddenly he pointed over to the right, "Over there, look! There's a jeep, I was right, he did steal one. Sam hit the brakes, the vehicle skidded to a halt sending clouds of dust into the night air. They ran to the other jeep, there was no sign of Langly, everything was eerily silent. They saw a faint glow coming from behind an outcrop, they ran to investigate. They rounded the crag and stopped in astonishment at the sight before them. Langly was lying face down, in a hollow, surrounded by a circle of brilliant, coruscating, kaleidoscopic light. Above him, hanging noiselessly in the dark sky, was a large, disc shaped craft. It was spectacularly lit with revolving rings of flashing, pulsating coloured lights. The beam of multi-hued light emanated from a darkened area just below and inside the spinning lights. A low vibrating hum began to fill their ears. Dana stared up at the disc, her mouth open. "I don't believe this! This can't be happening!" Sam and Al were also staring in disbelief at the strange sight. Sam was shielding his eyes from the glare of the oscillating light as he searched every detail of the craft, "It's a UFO, a real live, alien space craft!" Al pursed his lips and let out a long, trilled whistle. "Boy, is it ever!" Dana tugged at Sam's sleeve. "That's not necessarily true. It may well be a piece of highly advanced technology but my guess is it's one of ours, developed at one of the top secret bases over at Los Alamos. I've seen things like this before!" Sam glanced at her. "You still don't believe, do you! What does it take?" Dana had taken out her cell phone and was trying to call for back-up. He turned his attention back to the circle of light on the ground and the figure of Langly lying there. "Al, can Ziggy pick up any life signs?" Al was still distracted by the strange situation, "What.......oh, yeah, I'll check." He tried the handlink, there was no response he shook it, slapped at it, cursed at it. He had it grasped in both hands, he looked as though he were trying to strangle the thing, it merely squealed once and died, "I guess that thing's causing too much interference, the handlink's completely dead." Dana was doing much the same as Al, she was desperately trying to get her phone working, "It's dead, Sam. I think the battery has been drained. I can't get help." She let the phone drop to the dusty ground. Sam took hold of her hand, squeezed it gently, hugged her, kissed her quickly, "Well, I guess it's all up to me to play the hero again. Keep you're fingers crossed." He pulled away from her and loped towards the light. She called after him. "Sam, be careful, you don't know what that is. Anything could happen" The noise from the craft had risen in tone and volume, he paused at the edge of the light, and shouted back to her over the noise, "I love you Dana, I love you. If anything happens to me, remember that. Remember last night." She watched him, his image began to waver, she was losing her connection to him. She could only see him now, back in the persona of Mulder. She bit down on her lower lip,to stop herself from calling him back. She knew and Al knew he had to do this. She knew that Al must be there somewhere with her but she couldn't see or hear him. She watched as Sam entered the beam of pulsating, ever changing coloured light. Sam crossed the threshold of the eerie light. The air felt thick, it crackled around him. He felt as though he was walking through treacle. His limbs began to ache, they felt like lead. He struggled forwards, reached Langly and checked for a pulse. He was still alive.....just. The air rasped in his lungs, he could hardly breath, he felt exhausted. He bent down and lifted the man onto his shoulders. He staggered under the burden. It felt like he was carrying a ton weight. He staggered forwards, struggled back towards the rim of the circle. His energy was rapidly draining from him, the noise in his ears was intense, it was vibrating through him. He lurched forward his burden fell from his shoulders, tumbled and rolled across the ground and was clear of the beam. Dana rushed forward, reached the crumpled heap that was Langly. She dragged him a few feet away and to safety. Al was still there, shouting to Sam, he was yelling at Dana, he was so frustrated at his inability to communicate with her. She stood and turned back to the light. Sam was standing just inside the strange beam, he reached out to her with his arms, as though he wanted her to pull him from the circle. The beam intensified, it edged forwards. She had to shield her eyes to see, she stepped forward to reach for him, her hand touched the light, she withdrew it instantly as a shock of electricity crackled through her. She reeled back, in fright as the beam neared her. She watched in fascinated horror, as Sam, in the body of Mulder slowly rose into the air, ascended higher and higher into the brilliance of the light. She stared after him, he hovered just below the source of the light beam. She watched as he slowly faded from view and disappeared. There was a sudden flash of blue lightening, it crackled across the discs surface, engulfing it in a cold blue flame....and then the craft vanished, taking Sam with it. Dana screamed into the emptiness of the pale morning light, "Nooooo, Nooo." She dropped to her knees beside the unconscious body of Langly, tears were streaming from her eyes as she wept for Sam. Al stood, gaping up at the empty night sky. Fear for the unknown, racked at his mind and thoughts. Where had Sam gone? Who had taken him? Would he be returned? He walked over, beside Dana, looked down at Langly and cursed the man. Sam stood just inside the rim of the pulsating, swirling, ever changing circle of colour. He struggled to walk the last few paces that would take him from the confines of the strange ring of light. He gasped as he felt a strong physical force pull him backwards. He fought against it with all his remaining strength. He could see Dana through the shifting haze of multi-hues but his view was becoming distorted, it seemed as if he was looking through rippling water. He was mere inches from safety, if only he could make it to the rim and beyond, he might be safe. He slowly outstretched his arms towards her, they felt like lead. If he could just reach her. If he could just pull himself from the terrible light, if she could help to drag him from the pull of the beam, he would be alright. He concentrated his efforts in moving the small distance to safety. It was no use, the muscles of his body would not respond to his commands, his legs had become paralysed. He no longer had command of himself. He filled his lungs with the thick air, it rasped in his throat. He called to her but no sound escaped his lips. He could see the wavering image of his friend, desperately trying to get the handlink working. Al was yelling something at him, Dana was calling to him, urging him forward. He couldn't move. The air was so thick now, it felt as though he was inhaling glue. The beam of light moved forward, engulfing him, absorbing him. His breathes were short and painful. He could just see Dana as she reached for him, he saw her hand touch the light, he stared in horror as the pain of an electrical charge jolted through her. He watched as she reeled from the sudden shock and staggered back. He began to feel light-headed, his vision swam. The vibration altered and became a high-pitched trill. The heaviness changed, he was still unable to move but he felt lighter, an inexplicable weightlessness. He felt himself float, drift upwards, he struggled to look down, he was being very gently raised from the ground. He was being pulled slowly upwards towards the disc. He rose higher and higher towards the strange craft. He strained his eyes and searched for Dana through the vibrating, shifting air. He could just see her, she was standing staring up at him, still calling to him. Al was standing next to her, they looked so small and helpless, his heart went out to both of them. He strained to listen, he couldn't hear her, the loud trilling noise filled every part of him. He could see Al frantically trying to help Dana, he knew she couldn't see his friend, couldn't respond to him. He suddenly realized how alone and terrified she must feel in this nightmare. He was used to many strange sights, sounds and sensations. While leaping he had encountered many strange things but this was different, this was inexplicable. A strange mist filled his vision, it blurred his view of the world. He hung there, in the air, the multi-coloured lights playing, dancing over him. He couldn't comprehend what was happening. His eyes began to close, his long dark lashes fluttered against his cheeks. His mind began to empty. His thoughts were slipping away from him. He no longer felt any anxieties, he felt no fear, no pain, he felt nothing. The nothingness, the numbness crept through his body, it enveloped his mind and body. He drifted in the emptiness. His last thoughts were, that this foggy void was similar to his resting place between leaps, similar but not the same. Al was horrified at what had happened. He couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it. He hadn't really considered the possibility of alien intervention on this leap. He wondered if Ziggy had known something but had kept it to herself. Ziggy's data banks might exclude the idea of aliens too. Perhaps, the hybrid super computer was afraid its circuits would blow if it allowed that little factor to creep into the equation. Dana had managed to drag Langly back to the car. He was still unconscious but he had no obvious signs of injury. Al felt so helpless, he couldn't do anything, he couldn't help Dana, couldn't console her, couldn't help shoulder the burden of her concern and worries. Dana stood a few yards from the spot where Sam had been taken. She stood there, shivering in the twilight of the desert morning. She stood and she waited. Al was beside her, his own anxieties and fear creasing his face into a look of desperation and fear. He offered her words of comfort that he knew she couldn't hear. He thumped at the hand-link, nothing...he shook it and slapped at it frantically. Finally, it squealed into life, it's lights flickering and glowing. He let out a sigh of relief, turned his eyes heavenward and muttered, "Thank God, at last. Gushie centre me on Sam, now!....what do you mean you've lost him....damn!" He turned to her, "Dana, Dana, the interference has gone. I can go and get help..." She ignored him, he stared at her, "Damn, I forgot you can't see me......never mind, I'm going back for help, hang on in there kid, I'll be back in a little while." He punched at the hand-link, "Gushie, get me outa here, now. Dana needs our help and we gotta find Sam!" The imaging Chamber door opened in a brilliance of white light. Al stepped through, glanced back at Dana, "Don't worry, we'll find him!" Then he disappeared, leaving her totaly on her own. An hour and fifteen minutes later Al and the paramedics team arrived. They picked up Langly and took him back to the medical wing. They tried to convince Dana that she would be better off waiting for news of Sam back at the Project Centre but she wouldn't hear of it. She wanted to wait for Sam's return out here. She wanted to know he was alright, she wanted to be there, needed to be there for him when and if he returned. He could understand how she felt, he felt the same way too. Al stayed with Dana, they sat in the comfort of the plush car and watched the sky together. They shared each other's worries and fears. He put his arm around her to comfort her, she hardly noticed him there, she was too rigid with nerves. He tried to guess her thoughts, he knew if she felt half as worried as he was, she must be in hell. They sat there now, in silence, they hadn't spoken much for the last hour. It seemed like the sun had risen an eternity ago. The desert air was becoming hot and dry, even so, he felt a coldness deep within the pit of his stomach. Sam had been gone for five hours, he didn't want to tell Dana, that Ziggy's neural link with him had been severed within seconds of him disappearing into the light. Gushie had informed him that the computer hadn't been able to track or centre on him. Ziggy had lost Sam completely. Al wondered if he was okay, if he was still alive? He didn't want to think about it but there could be a reason why Ziggy had felt the disconnect with his best friend, he could be dead. No, no...he wouldn't allow himself to think that but he couldn't help wondering what other awful, terrible things might be happening to him, out there...up there! CHAPTER THIRTY Sam's thoughts and senses were beginning to return, he was drifting to the surface of consciousness. An odd tingling sensation ran from the base of his skull to the tips of his toes. He felt strange and light-headed. He tried to remember what had happened to him but his mind was confused, his thoughts were cloaked in a thick fog. He tried to concentrate, tried to collect his wits together. He had an odd feeling in his mind, not like the swiss cheese effect of leaping, it seemed to him, that his memories had sunk to the bottom of a thick muddy ooze. He tried to dredge them to the surface. Had he leaped? It felt as though he might have done. Was this another time, another adventure? He focused his thoughts, slowly, very slowly, the events of the past few days floated to the front of his mind. Had the retrieval program worked? Was he home at last, was that why he felt so strange? Then the other memories came back to him, the UFO, the coloured beam of light, the awful penetrating noise....he'd been abducted! But by who or what? He knew he was laying on something soft, he flexed his fingers and felt the surface beneath him. It felt like a bed or couch of some sorts. He opened his eyes carefully and slowly. The subtle lighting of the room seemed bright compared to the darkness of unconsciousness. His vision swam sickeningly as he stared up at the ceiling. A cluster of small lenses stared back from a brightly coloured panel directly above him. Several large rings of oscillating lights revolved in spirals of multi-colours in the centre of the ceiling above him. He moved his hands up to his face and rubbed at his eyes. As he took his hands away, he noticed he was still wearing the same clothes he'd put on earlier. He hadn't leaped into someone new, that at least was something. He turned his head to view the room. It was small, appeared to be empty and was filled with a diffuse blue light. The walls were devoid of any decoration, the surfaces here looked similar to the self illuminated material of the Project Centre. The room looked very familiar, it resembled the Waiting Room. The thought that he may have leaped home jolted through him. He sat up and called into the air, "Al, where am I, Where is everyone?" His sudden action was too quick for his body to cope with, it brought a wave of dizziness and nausea. He fought against wretching, swallowed hard and took a deep breath. He put his hands up to his forehead to steady his head and closed his eyes again. He eased back his head, took a deep breath and yelled as loud as he could, "Al! Where the hell are you? Where am I?" He heard a noise behind him, a chair being pushed back across the floor, he wasn't alone! He opened his eyes and blinked, his vision began to settle, the dizziness and nausea was passing. Standing before him was the figure of a slightly built, dark haired man of about thirty. He was dressed in a blue and white stylized Naval uniform. He looked as though he would have been at home on a private cruise liner. Sam gave the man a questioning look. "Where am I?" The man smiled, ignoring the question he reached forward and helped him to sit up. Sam swung his legs over the edge of the medical couch he'd been laying on. The man caught hold of his wrist and felt his pulse, "Mmm, Do you feel a little better now, Dr Beckett? I do apologize for the discomfort. We don't often transfer people inhabiting another's body, it...er..it seems to have caused some unusual side effects. While you're here you will appear in your own image. Your covering aura has been removed." He offered Sam the contents of a small metal beaker, Sam peered at it suspiciously. The other man was still smiling, "Drink this, it will help. It's alright, it won't hurt you." Sam looked from the beaker to stare at the man, searched his features, he looked very familiar. He looked back at the beaker and gulped down the contents...it was root beer! Sam looked up, a little puzzled. "Please tell me where am I? Where's Al? Did I leap? Who are you and how do you know my name?" "Woa, one question at a time Dr Beckett. Firstly, you are aboard the The Admiral III. This is a small Quantum Flyer, this baby can travel through time and space and of course I know your name, It's an honour to meet the founder of our technology." Sam's jaw dropped, "I'm aboard a what?! My technology? How the hell did I get here? Are you telling me you're from the future, you're not aliens?" The other man laughed hoarsely, and silenced him with a wave of his hands, "No, we're not aliens, well, not all of us but yes, we are from the future. I know it's difficult to believe," He paused and shuffled his feet, "To answer one of your questions, yes, in a way you did leap. We used a leap field to bring you on board." He paused again, to regard Sam's look of utter astonishment, his dark eyes were sparkling with amusement. Sam couldn't help but feel that he knew the man very well, from somewhere. "Perhaps I'd better introduce myself. I'm Dr Allen Calavicci, ships psychologist and operations observer!" He extended his hand, Sam took it, pumped it up and down, laughed and shook his head, "Well, I'll be damned! There's more than one Al Calavicci......oh boy, I hope the future can handle another Al. I knew you looked familiar! Is there a connection?" The Doctor nodded his head and started counting on his fingers, "Oh, yeah, sure, the original Admiral, Albert Calavicci, he was....now let me see, he was my...my sixth, seventh...no, he was.....well, yeah, I'm the ninth generation Calavicci since the original." Sam was grinning broadly, he couldn't get over how much this young man took after his best friend, the original Al as he'd been referred to. "So, I guess Al, gets to have kids after all." "Yeah, I'm very glad to say he did, several in fact." Sam's happiness at that thought suddenly faded, as the realized that he still hadn't leaped home fully registered in his mind. "Doctor, why am I here. I don't understand why you would want to bring me here? If you are a time travelled you must know what happens to me, can you tell me? If we're on board a time-ship, you must have the technology to send me home. please can you tell me if I get home? When I get home?" The Doctor, regarded him silently for a moment, then spoke solemnly. "That's not for me to divulge, the Captain has been waiting to meet you. He'll answer your questions. Do you feel okay now, can you walk?" Sam guessed he was okay, the odd feelings and sensations had passed. He stood up, testing his balance, the dizziness didn't return. "Yeah, I'm okay, I think." He beamed back at the Doctor and joked. "I suppose you had better take me to your leader.....you know, I've always wanted to say that!" They stepped from the small room and were promptly joined by the two security crew-men who had been standing guard outside. Dr Al Calavicci turned to the two men, they saluted him. "In view of who this is, I don't think it will be necessary for you to accompany us. You're dismissed!" Sam turned to the Doctor, "They take orders from you?" "Oh yes, I have quite a say on the running of this ship, although, I'm not exactly in on the military side of things. My job is difficult enough without having to abide by all the petty little military rules. Sometimes I have to bend them a little to get things done the right way. The man I work with," his grin widened, "My boss, the Director is quite a guy, gets himself into all kinds of scrapes, I have to keep a strong check on things. You might get to meet him later." He stopped talking and gestured around the interior of the small craft. "I think you may be in for a few pleasant surprises, all of this was based on the Project Centre, on your work Dr Beckett." Sam looked around at the ship, he walked over to one of the walls inspected it, touched it gently with his finger tips, "This is almost the same as we had back at the Project." "Yes, it is. Dr Gushman eventually got around to ironing out all the little problems he had with it. His material is used world-wide now. He was quite a legend in his own right.s" They began to walk down a small curving, octagonal corridor. The Doctor led the way as he chatted and pointed out things of interest. Sam could plainly see that the ship was indeed based on the Project Centre's technology and design. The whole ship was lit with the same subtle blue lighting of the Project Centre, he felt almost at home. "What do you use to power this baby" Sam asked. "Back in the early years of 2000 a free energy source was discovered, we call it cosmatic energy or universal energy. It's all around us, always has been. It just took one scientist to discover its existence. Once the energy was recognized it didn't take very long before we discovered how to tap into it or rather, how to draw on it. It means we have limitless amounts of energy and none of the draw-backs of the old bulky, conventional reactors or accelerators." Sam drew in a breath and whistled, loudly. "Unlimited, free power, boy, we could have done with that back at the Project Centre. What became of the Project Centre, what became of my friends? What happened to Ziggy?" The Doctor paused, took out a cigar and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. "They don't usually allow me to smoke these on board ship, I'm only allowed the luxury on special occasions," he laughed loudly, "I guess no-one can say this isn't a special occasion. He took out a small gadget aimed it at the cigar, which lit immediately. He sucked at the cigar and blew a perfect smoke ring into the air above him. A young, attractive crew-woman walked by, the Doctor's attention was drawn to look at her as she passed, he pursed his lips, raised his eyebrows and drew deeply on the cigar, "Wow, I'd love to psycho-analyse her some day!" Sam shook his head in amusement, he could almost see the young man's mind working, he knew from experience exactly what he would be thinking. "You really do remind me of my friend, Admiral Al Calavicci. You must have inherited all of his....er...little traits." The Doctor turned back to look at him, "Yeah, really? Ain't that a kick in the time-differentials. I guess I really must take after the old man after all. Probably why I got chosen for this job." Sam prompted him, "Please tell me about my friends, what happened to them, what happened to me?" "I'm afraid I can't tell you that, that's up to the discretion of Captain but I can tell you what happened with Ziggy. We now have a global computer network called Ziggy! I guess she kinda grew and developed over the years, she even became sentient. This ship is directly linked to her main computer banks, you should see the size of her ego now she's become ubiquitous. The whole craft is fitted with a holographic emitter array system, Ziggy's image can walk or materialize anywhere on board the craft." Sam's eyebrows rose in unequivocal surprise. "What year did all this happen? I mean when did they start building Quantum-ships, can you tell me that? What year did you start off from?" The Doctor laughed, "It took a while to perfect your theories and ideas, it took even longer to combine them into space craft technology but it was finally achieved. It was all down to you. Everything here is based upon your original innovative theories and science. Welcome to the technology of the twenty-second century Dr Beckett. The year is....that is to say the year we came from is two thousand-one hundred and fifty-four!" Sam stared at him in astonishment. The Doctor led him to a brightly lit entrance bay. The door in front of them opened automatically with a low hiss. The sight that greeted him was awe inspiring. Doctor Calavicci entered and motioned Sam to join him. Sam hesitated, then stepped into the compact, colourfully lit control room. It was an octagonal room, one side of which was filled with instrument panels and screens, technicians in one piece Naval uniforms sat before them. There was a huge blue viewing screen on the opposite side from the door. Rows of smaller screens filled another wall, these were being closely scanned and monitored by crew-technicians. In the centre of the room was a colourful, brightly lit, command console. Facing the large screen was a group of command seats. Behind and to the left of the seats stood the image of a stunningly beautiful woman. He gazed at her intently, recognition suddenly hit him, it was the same image Ziggy had formed herself into back at the Project Centre, it was Ziggy! She walked closer to him, "Welcome to the future, father." Three high ranking officers were standing to the other side of the command seats. They stood to attention and saluted him. Sam felt he should acknowledge the honour by returning the gesture. The Captain stepped forward. He was a man of somewhere in his late fifties, He was tall and slim and had silver grey hair. His uniform was more elaborate than the other officers. It was a one piece garment, black in colour and was trimmed with gold braid. One corner of the top lapel was folded down, forming a triangle across his chest, this was pinned in place with a large golden star. There were banded epaulettes at the shoulders and braided rings of rank down one sleeve. He made for a very impressive figure. Sam guessed he would have to be a very capable man to be in charge of such a craft. The Captain stepped forward and shook his hand, "Captain Russel at your service. It's an honour to have you on board Dr Beckett. I expect you have many questions. Did the good Doctor here give you a guided tour?" The Captain frowned over at the Doctor who was puffing on his cigar with apparent enjoyment and satisfaction. "Yeah, I pointed out a few things and explained a few things but I think he's eager to learn the rest." The Captain and Sam stared at each other for a moment, mutual respect for each other clearly showing on their faces. The captain gestured around the Command Centre, "Well, what do you think of our little craft? He's quite something isn't he." Sam nodded eagerly, he was still, somewhat in awe of the place, "Yes, it's quite remarkable, this certainly is a fantastic piece of engineering but why do you refer to it as he? Aren't ships usually referred to as she?" Captain Russel laughed heartily, "Bearing in mind who the ship was named after, I don't think he would have liked that very much." The Captain paused, the tone of laughter draining from his voice, "I understand you had a rough transfer, I apologize about that. We were somewhat surprised that it affected you that way, we also underestimated your recovery time, I'm afraid it hasn't left us with very much time to spare and there are many things to discuss. Please will you join the Doctor and I, in my Command Office." The Doctor's wrist communicator flashed, he tapped at it, then informed them, "I'm very sorry Captain, it seems I have urgent business with the Director, unfortunately, I won't be able to join you after all." He turned to Sam, "Please will you excuse me, Dr Beckett, I look forward to talking with you again before you leave." Sam smiled and nodded. He followed Captain Russel through to a small cabin off the main control area. Star charts lined three walls of the small office, one wall looked similar to the holo-screen back in his Personal Lab. The whole room was dwarfed by a large circular console table which filled most of the office. The Captain moved round to sit in front of a raised control panel and monitor at the far end of the table. He motioned Sam to join him at one of several seats positioned around the table. The Captain tapped the keys on the control panel, the holo-screen blinked into life, a large Star logo materialized, revolved, reshaped itself into an image of the World and hung suspended in front of the wall. The Captain looked troubled, he drummed his fingers on the table then turned his attention to Sam. "We've brought you here because we need your help, Dr Beckett." Sam felt more than a little perplexed, why would they need him. What could he possibly do for them. They already had all the technology they needed to time travel, to correct history if they should need to. "I don't quite understand, you are in more of a position to help me. You have the technology here to send me home. Can you do that?" He leaned forward, a note of urgency in his voice, "Please Captain Russel, I have to get home. I was on the brink of initiating a retrieval program when I came out to the desert to rescue Langly. I have a friend who desperately needs my help, she's sick and I promised to help her." The other man glanced down, rubbed at his chin, he seemed deep in thought. "We know you want to go home. We know all about your friend Dana. We know that she is suffering from a virulent form of carcinoma, we also know how much Dana means to you....the Director has informed us of the facts." "Then you must know how much she means to me, how much I love her. Please Captain, you must help me, you must have conquered the problems of disease, you must have a cure for cancer." "Yes, we did conquer most diseases but it's not that simple," He stared intently at Sam, his voice betraying great concern, "You have a decision to make and because of who you are, even though we need you, we will allow you that decision." Sam stared back at the man, a look of anxiety, uncertainty and puzzlement showing in his features. The Captain continued, "Let me explain. Within a short time span you will be placed into a position to help your friend Dana. Destiny, fate, whatever you like to call it, will leap you into someone who will be in a position to administer a cure, someone who will not allow her to die. We cannot tell you who that is or when that will be. It is not in your best interest to know that information. If you decide to stop leaping....if we help you or if we allow the retrieval process to take you home...you will never make that leap...Dana will die." The last three words echoed through his mind, again and again. He shuddered, he couldn't understand why there should have to be a choice. "No, no, wait, surely, it doesn't have to be that way. If you just give me a way to cure her, you could send me home, we could be together and she would live. There's no reason for her to die." The Captain slowly shook his head from side to side. He leaned forward, rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers. "I'm afraid we cannot do that." "Why not? the cure for cancer couldn't possibly harm humanity, it would end a great deal of suffering for a lot of people." The Captain frowned, his eye's darkened, "You must understand this, if we were to give you the cure to her cancer, that cure would be used on another. You would be unable to prevent that eventuality. The man, if he was allowed to live, would be the cause of the Third World War. We cannot allow that to happen. It is not in this time-line for mankind's history..... not yet! I'm sorry Dr Beckett, you must make a choice. Our future depends upon that choice. Our future depends upon your decisions. Everything that happens today will predict which course history will take. Fate, your destiny, your actions, play a big part in the making of that history." Sam stared up at the ceiling, it was a decision he didn't want to make, it wasn't fair. He felt utter despair, he felt so alone. "Why must I choose, why can't I have my life back, why can't I be with Dana?...I love her. Why does it have to be this way why does fate have to treat me this way" Sam looked back at the other time traveller, "Do you have a wife, a family, someone you love? You must know how I feel." The Captain waited for him to calm down and compose himself a little before continuing, "Believe me I know how hard it is, I've had to make terrible decision myself. Decisions which have cost others their lives. I had to sacrifice my own family for this job. I know it isn't easy...but once before, you decided your own fate. Two years ago, when you stepped into the accelerator, you made a decision and now you have to live by the consequences of your actions. Fate or God, we prefer to think it is God, took the chance you provided and saw a way for you to help humanity. God has a unique advantage over us, to be able to see where you are and to send you where you are most needed. So far, you've done well, you've done very well. One day you will be rewarded but your job is not completed yet. You must decide!" Silent tears trickled from Sam's eyes and coursed down his cheeks. "You seem to know all about me...you must know the decision I will make, must make. I promised Dana that I would help her, that I would save her if I could. I intend to keep my promise, she means more to me than my own life. I must choose to keep leaping. I will let fate take me, I have no other choice, no other choice at all." He hung his head, he wept inwardly with the burden of his decision and for his lost love. Captain Russel remained quiet and allowed Sam his grief. "It is unfortunate that Doctor Calavicci was called away, he should have been here, he's so much better at this sort of thing than I." The Captain frowned and searched Sam's eye's for doubt. "Are you absolutely sure of your decision?" Sam sighed, and answered reluctantly, "Yes, If there can be no other way, then I'm sure." "Good, then I can tell you the reason you are here but first, I think there are things you should see, things you should know for yourself. Then perhaps you will understand why we need you, why fate chose to use you." He reached forward and activated a small panel on the console, a hiss emitted from the control board and a panel opened in the centre of the table, a small pedestal rose from beneath, a black box was resting on top of the small platform. The Captain stood, took the box from the table, took out a small silver head set. He moved behind Sam, placed it onto Sam's head and attached several tiny electrodes to Sam's forehead. "We usually view history on the holo-screen but I think you need to feel it, to experience it." The strange headset was activated, Sam's mind was suddenly filled with a combination of awe, enlightenment, fear, desperation and dread. The feelings of hope and despair mingled and combined, they filled him. Sparkling colours undulated along his optic nerves. Scenes flashed rapidly before his eyes. He watched in fascination as history unfurled itself within his head. He saw wonderful scenes, terrible scenes. Scenes of utter beauty, scenes of carnage and war. He saw the planet Earth wrapped in a terrible layer of pollution, he saw earth quakes and floods, he saw the continents shift. He watched as man disappeared from the surface of the planet and gathered in fear below ground. He looked on in disgust as he saw what man became. "Noooo, please stop, that's enough! What do you want?" A spasm of intense pain shot through his head as he pulled the apparatus from his head and let it fall to the table. The pictures exploded behind his vision and vanished. The captain stared at him with dark eyes, "That is only one possible future. We need you to alter some events in history, it will prevent much of what you saw. We don't want mankind to have to suffer those terrible things. We only wish to help mankind survive. We want to survive, we want to make our future better......only you, can help us to do that." Sam swallowed hard, he was fighting against waves of sickness. The Captain noticed his discomfort, "I'm sorry, you shouldn't have stopped it that way. I should have warned you." Sam stared back at the man, "Are you telling me, that because of my leaps, all that changed for the better?" "You underestimate yourself, Dr Beckett. You touched many lives, you altered many time lines for the better." Sam was beginning to realize the full extent of his part in God's play but there was a nagging doubt at the back of his mind. "How can I trust you, how can I be sure you're telling the truth? If you are here to help mankind, why did you hurt Langly, Why did you kill Churnik? Are you responsible for all the abduction cases that have been reported recently?" "That was not us. We're not in the business of harming anyone. That was the `Others', they came from a different place, a different dimension. We are merely travellers and observers. We do what we can to help, we do what we can to prevent the Others intervening but we are limited as to what we can do. We must not be the causation of a paradox. We have to be extremely careful, one unwise decision and we could be the cause of our own non-existence. While we are on board this craft we remain untouched by the differentials of time and history. Back there in the desert, we merely saw an opportunity and made use of Langly, we used him as bait to reach you. For that we are sorry but it was necessary, he will recover. His first encounter was with the `Others'. They are a law unto themselves, they have their own dubious criteria. They do things against the history of mankind, they are evil creatures. We are at war with the Others. They were...still are trying to change history for themselves. We...Mankind, tried to stop them. Time-crafts were built based upon your technology, you are our founder. Without your ideas, without you, we would never have had a hope in hell of fighting them, of putting right their wrongs. The war escalated, it spread through time and space, the battle still still continues" Sam had no choice, he had to accept the man's words, "What do you need me to do that fate hasn't already decreed?" "In another future leap, you will be in a position to seriously hamper the Others. You will be known as a `Watcher'. This time round, you must help a man, you must ensure the survival of one man, for he is to play a key part in the future history of humanity and the battle against the Others. His name is Duncan McLeod. Very soon we will have to return you, you will not remember much of this encounter but when you meet this man you will recall everything." "How did you know the right time, the exact point in history to find me." The Captain smiled, "You are forgetting Ziggy, she has most of your leaps recorded in her memory banks. She had your abduction scenario recorded in detail. We guessed the event concerned ourselves, we were able to fulfil Ziggy's recorded events." Sam narrowed his eyes, his thoughts homed in on the words `most', "Captain, what do you mean, most of my leaps?" The Captain looked slightly uncomfortable, "Almost a century ago, the Others broke through our defence systems, They targeted the Project Centre, they thought if they could eradicate the Project's experiments, they could stop our evolvement of time-travel. Unfortunately, they were able to cause considerable damage before we could stop them. They've tried it before but we were always able to stop them before they caused to many problems. They were trying to interfere with your present leap," Sam quickly nodded in agreement and realization, "Yes, of course, the power peaks!" "Exactly, only on that particular occasion they caused Ziggy to lose a considerable amount of her data banks. We managed to reconstruct some of what was lost but we were unable to fill in the fine details. We also lost track of several leaps between the years 1998 and 1999 and another section between 2001 and 2005. It is unfortunate that we do not posses the ability to locate you between leaps, we also could not track you during those lost years. We had to know where you were before we could make contact. We can't scan for someone, if we have no clues as to where they are." "So you aren't sure of everything I will be doing in the future. What happened to all the Project Files?" "Unfortunately, over the years they were damaged, we don't rule out sabotage. However, there is one amongst us, who, with a little help from our technology, can tell us about some of those lost years. The One, the Director, oversees all our time-trips and observations, his knowledge goes back a long way, to the beginning and before." Suddenly, Ziggy's form materialized in the small office, her voice purred with the same purring tones she'd formed all those years ago, "I'm sorry to disturb you, Captain Russel but it's time for Dr Beckett to leave." Sam's curiosity was pricked, "Wait, just one more question, Who is the One, the Director. How does he know so much?" The Captain looked across at Ziggy, she silently shook her head at him, she turned to Sam, "I'm sorry, we are not at liberty to discuss the Director with you. He has not authorized it. I've come to say Goodbye Dr Beckett. It was wonderful to have you here, I'll see to it that your departure is more comfortable than your arrival." "Thank you Ziggy, I would appreciate that." She smiled at him gently and slowly dematerialized. The door to the office hissed open and Doctor Calavicci stepped into the room, "Well, I guess I missed all the fun, I've just been informed that it's time for our guest to leave." Sam and the Captain rose from their seats and walked over to join the Doctor. The Captain held out his hand, Sam took it and shook it in a gesture of friendship. A buzzer sounded from the console behind them, "I'm sorry, duty calls, I wish we could have had longer. I suppose I'll have to leave you in the capable hands of the Doctor, he'll escort you back to the Transfer Chamber. Goodbye Dr Beckett and good luck......I think you are going to need it." Doctor Calavicci chatted to him as they walked the short distance back to the Chamber. Sam still had one or two unanswered questions, "They wouldn't discuss the Director with me. You said I might get to meet him, so what's the mystery." Doctor Al Calavicci, raised his eyebrows and took out a new cigar, he stuck it in his mouth and chewed on it without bothering to light it. "I've just had the Director on my case, he say's I shouldn't smoke these things on board, even if I do have a reason to celebrate.....now, what were you saying...Oh yeah....the Director.....Well, he kinda likes to be mysterious, I guess he is a little different to the rest of us." With those words they reached the Transfer Chamber, the door hissed open and the Doctor led the way inside. "Okay, now, you have to lay down and relax, I understand Ziggy has modified the leap field beam and has brought it into phase with your neural nets. The leap out of here shouldn't be too uncomfortable. I'm sorry to have to do this but I just have to secure you a little." Reluctantly, Sam lay down on the Transfer couch, The ring of lights above his head began to pulse and swirl. The Doctor began attaching restraints across his body. Before the Doctor had chance to lock down both wrists, Sam reached out and caught hold of his sleeve. "Al...Doctor, can you tell me how long I have before I leap into someone new? Can you tell me how much longer I have left with Dana....Please, I have to know, can you tell me that much, at least?" The Doctor narrowed his eyes and frowned, a noise from behind him caught his attention. The figure of Dr Allen Calavicci drew back and was replaced by another figure. The room was beginning to fog with coloured light, he was beginning to feel light-headed. He stared at the man as he drew closer. He stared up in disbelief at the face before him......it was his own face, it was himself. He looked a little older, a little leaner, his hair was streaked with grey but it was definitely himself! He gasped and blinked, he could hardly believe it, "You're the Director? I mean...I'm the Director?" The Sam of the future smiled gently at him. "Yes, it's true......you, we..are one and the same. I decided I should come and see you," he laughed quietly, "I couldn't resist coming to see myself." Sam swallowed, his vision was beginning to cloud, "Please tell me about Dana? What happens to her, how long have I got before my next leap? What happens to Mulder after I leap out? Can you tell me if I ever leap home?" The Director grinned, "I guess you're entitled to a few answers, "After you leap out, Mr Mulder won't remember anything about the events of the past few days. He will never completely know what happened to him. Dana, as you already know will be helped by you...by us but in another persona. I can't tell you who you will next leap into but I can tell you that you will meet Dana again. That you will spend time with her again and yes, you will leap home, several times but I cannot tell you when." Sam was fighting to stay awake, "Please, tell me how long I have left with Dana? Will she remember me" The Sam from the future looked sad, a look of distant pain showed in his eyes, "I'm sorry, your next leap will place you in the past, before this event, it will alter the time-lines of history. From the point of your next leap, the events of the past few days won't occur. They will never happen. I remember Dana telling me...that no matter what, she would always remember the one night we had together. There's no easy way of saying this....that night, as far as she is concerned will never happen. The person you next leap into will cause that never to happen. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry........." Sam watched as the figure of himself backed away from view. The room spun, the lights above him intensified. He was fighting against a tide of emotion and sorrow. He tried to shout but his words would not come. His sight was veiled by thick blue mist. His body began to float, he felt discarnate. A wave of energy passed through him. His mind closed around him taking his despair, his pain, his thoughts and memories with it. He lapsed into the darkness of the void. The darkness of sleep. -- Heather Markham