Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 20:30:17 -0700 (MST) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Circles of Fate - Part 2 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Quantum Leap "Circles of Fate" Part 2 The person who _wasn't_ Sammy Jo sighed with relief once she had entered the quarters which Sammy Jo had kept at the complex. It had been a very long day for her, learning names of people she didn't know and faces of names she did know. For example, there was Admiral Albert Calavicci, a name with which she was very familiar and a face she had never seen. He was a little shorter than she had imagined but it was still obvious that he was of mostly Italian descent. She shivered slightly. *The way he stared at me! I thought he could see into my soul!* She took a breath. *But I can't tell him the truth about me. It could be disastrous to this mission and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if this mission failed.* She went into the quarter's bathroom and looked in the mirror. Sammy Jo Fuller was a beautiful woman with dark brown wavy hair and a distinctively beautiful face. Her eyes were bright blue and, despite her young age, there was a slight amount of white hair in the woman's bangs. She looked towards the main quarters area and noticed a framed photograph. She went over to it and picked it up. It was a photo of an older woman, probably Sammy Jo's mother. *The resemblance is uncanny except Sammy Jo's eyes are so much more blue and I don't think that white in her hair comes from her mother.* Putting the picture down, she looked about the quarters. Sammy Jo had done a wonderful job in giving the room her own touch. The room was cosy but simple and practical. 'Sammy Jo' noticed the computer terminal at one corner of the room. She walked up to it and sat down. If she were going to do what she thought she had to do, she needed more information. And what better source of information than the complex's computer! *First of all, who is this Dr. Sammy Jo Fuller whom I've replaced?* she thought as she activated the computer terminal. "Good evening, Dr. Fuller," a female voice greeted when she activated the terminal. "How was your day?" "It was very good. Thank you," 'Sammy Jo' replied. "I would like to access my personnel file, please." *This is Project Quantum Leap, not that other one. Surely, they have more freedom here.* "Certainly, Dr. Fuller," the female voice replied. A moment later, Dr. Fuller's personnel file came onto the screen before her. She smiled with relief. *Thank goodness they are more relaxed here. At the other project, you couldn't tie your shoelaces without the Director's permission.* "Thank you," she told the computer. "You're welcome, Dr. Fuller," the voice replied. She started browsing the file of the person she needed to impersonate. It read: Dr. Samantha Josephine Fuller Born: March 18, 1967 in Pottersville, Louisiana Marital status: single Known relatives: Abigail Fuller - mother Laura Fuller - grandmother (deceased) Occupation: quantum physicist - currently employed at Project Quantum Leap (classified) *Odd*, she thought. *They don't list a father.* Curious about it, she accessed another part of the file. There was little to tell her who Sammy Jo's father was but there was some indication that her father had abandoned her when she hadn't been born. Also in those files, there was some indication that her supposed father was, in fact, not her true father. On the other hand, there was enough in those files to indicate that Sammy Jo had been looking for a way to retrieve Dr. Beckett for a long time. Her eyes widened. *And from the looks of it, she was on the right track.* There was a knock on the door. "Come in," she replied to the knock as she shut off the computer terminal and stood up. The door opened to allow Al into the room. He looked at her intensely, causing her to worry, once again, of whether or not he knew she wasn't who she was pretending to be. "Admiral Calavicci, what are you doing here?" she asked with surprise. "Are you okay, Sammy Jo?" Al asked. She smiled at him, trying to hide her nervousness. "I'm fine, Al. Why?" she asked, taking Al's using Sammy Jo's first name as a sign of friendly familiarity. Al walked to her. "Because I can't remember the last time you needed to check your notes for any reason." She sighed. "I guess this new news about Sam really has me shook up," she improvised, hoping that the informality of using Sam's first name was proper. Apparently it was because Al's gaze softened. He exhaled. "Yeah, well, it has me pretty shook up too." He laughed sickly as he walked and sat on Sammy Jo's couch. "Actually, it scares the shit out of me." He looked at her sadly. "Hey," she said, sitting beside him. "We'll get him home," she assured him. "I promise." Al looked into her eyes and froze. There was genius behind those eyes but it wasn't Sammy Jo's. At the same time, though, it was. He pulled his eyes away from hers and stood up. "So," he asked with a breath. "How much more time do you think you'll need until we can test your theory?" "Well," she said quickly, thankful for the distraction from Al's intense gaze and thankful that she had perused the files before Al came in. "Based on what we have now, I should say no more than two days. However, we'll have to run some simulations before we even think of trying to retrieve Sam. We don't want to take the risk of accidentally killing him." "Of course," Al agreed. He paused. "Well, I'd better get going home. Beht's probably wondering why I'm not home already." He sighed. "And I have to tell her about Sam." 'Sammy Jo' nodded with understanding. Al headed for the quarters' door. "Good night, Sammy Jo," he told her with a smile. "Good night, Al," she returned as Al left. She returned to the computer and brought up Sammy Jo's research. "Okay, Sammy Jo," she said aloud. "Let's see how far you got on this." ****************************** Dr. Samuel Beckett awoke to find himself in a small room. The room was so small, in fact, that it was almost claustrophobic to him. Looking about, he found himself on a small bed, though it was difficult to tell what kind of bed withour a decent light source. He looked around in the dark for a lamp. He could see none. Sam sat on the edge of the bed and then stood up. Groping around the room, he found no source of light - no light switch, no windows, no electrical outlet to plug a lamp into (if he had a lamp). Neither was there any furniture other than the bed which, upon better exploration, Sam found to be more like a small cot with a single blanked and a pillow. There was no mattress cover. There was a single door made of some kind of wood. However, the door was locked from the outside and there seemes to be no other means out of the room. The walls were apparently made of solid plaster. *Where the hell am I?* Sam thought uncomfortably. *How do I get out of here?* he shivered uncontrollably. He was cold - very cold. He patted himself to get a better idea of what kind of clothes he was wearing. From what he could tell, the clothes he had on were not only thin but were falling apart. He shivered again, grabbing the think blanket on the cot and wrapping himself in it. *Where am I?* he practically demanded. *Al, where are you?* He cuddled himself on the cot and against the corner of the room, trying to gain whatever heat might be in the wall. Shaking from cold, his eyes roamed the small barren room. "Al, where are you?" he pleaded. But there was no answer. *********************** Terrified screams emanated from the Waiting Room. The screams pierced Verbina's heart as she went into the room to reassure the screamer. She found the person into whom Sam leaped huddled under the Waiting Room table. He was balled into a fetal position, his legs and arms covering his face. Verbina gently lowered herself so that she was looking directly at him. "It's okay," she assured. "You're safe here. I promise." "The lights," the guest whispered. "Please, the lights." Verbina frowned. She looked at the Waiting Room's lights and then at the guest's position. She suddenly realized the problem. "Ziggy, turn down the lights in the Waiting Room by one-half." The lights in the room dimmed to the point where they looked as if it were dusk in the room. "Is that better?" Verbina asked. The guest, still shaking in fear, slowly looked up and squinted. "Too bright," the guest told her. She raised her eyebrows but nonetheless had Ziggy lower the lights even more until the guest was satisfied when the lighting was a dull gray. She smiled at him gently. "Better now?" she asked. He hesitated, afraid to say anymore. "It's okay," Verbina assured him. "I want to make you as comfortable as possible." He paused, reluctant. "Too hot," he finally said. Verbina nodded. "Ziggy, lower the temperature in the Waiting Room until the guest says to stop." The computer obeyed, dropping the temperature from seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit to fifty-one degrees. "How's that?" Verbina asked the guest. He hesitated before nodding. "Want to come out from under the table?" Verbina suggested, offering her hand. He shook his head. "It's okay," Verbina told him. "I won't hurt you." The guest hesitated. "Did my father send you?" He seemed terrified at the prospect. Verbina shook her head. "No, he didn't." The guest took Verbina's hand with trepidation. Verbina gently helped him onto his feet. "Okay, now?" Verbina asked. The guest nodded quickly. Verbina smiled gently at him. "Good. My name's Verbina. What's yours?" He hesitated. "Frederick." "Nice name," Verbina commented. The guest glared at her. "What's wrong?" she asked. "It's my father's name." Verbina paused. "And you don't like your father." The guest walked away from her. "I hate him!" He paused. "I know that's a strong word. I don't use it lightly." There was an intenseness in his eyes which showed that he truly did hate his father. "Why do you hate your father, Frederick?" Verbina asked. "Don't call me that!" the guest screamed. "What name would you like to be called?" Verbina requested. The guest was silent for a moment, his head lowered. "I have no name," he finally said, sounding very rehearsed. Verbina frowned at the answer, especially at the way Frederick said it. It was obvious he didn't want to discuss the matter further. "Listen," Verbin said gently. "Would you like something to eat?" "Eat?" Frederick whispered, shock in his voice. That response got Verbina's attention. She approached him slowly, concern on her face. Frederick slowly backed away from her. She stopped. "Fred..." She stopped, remembering his reaction the last time she had said his name. "I'd like to examine you, if I may." Frederick looked terrified. His breathing increased rapidly. Seeing how scared he was, Verbina backed away from him slowly. "It's okay," she told him. "It can wait." She backed towards the Waiting Room door. "I'll have some soup brought to you. Okay?" Frederick looked uncertain. "Okay," he finally agreed. Verbina nodded. "I'll be right back with your soup," she told him just before leaving the Waiting Room. --------------------------------- Part 3 soon. Katherine