Organization: Penn State University Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1993 21:27:13 EST From: Message-ID: <93032.212714MRM122@psuvm.psu.edu> Newsgroups: alt.ql.creative Subject: Trinity Leap, Part 1 Lines: 149 Original story by me. Hope you enjoy it. TRINITY LEAP Part 1 The familiar feeling of reforming somewhere, somewhen, and settling into that place and time filled Dr. Sam Beckett. His first instinct, as usual, was to quickly assess the situation. To his dismay, he was at the controls of a plane. In the pilot's seat. "Oh boy," he said, "Al, where are you?" "I'm right here," said a voice behind him. He turned, but Al was not there. Not the Al that Sam knew. Instead, it was a man dressed in the same airline uniform that Sam was wearing. He sat down at the co-pilot's seat. "I wasn't in there that long, was I?" "No," said Sam, "I don't think so." "OK," said this other Al, with a small grin that reminded Sam of his own Al. At that moment, the sound of the Imaging Chamber door opening came from behind Sam. Al came through it, wearing his Naval uniform, and looking panicked. "Sam, Ziggy says you have to move fast, there isn't much time." "Why?" asked Sam. "Why what?" asked the co-pilot Al. "Why... did you think you were gone long?" "Because you seemed to think so, that's why." "Oh." "Sam," said Al, "There isn't much time. A terrorist takes over this flight using some kind of knockout gas. You have to stop him. If you don't, Ziggy says there is a 99.7% chance that all the passengers will die in the crash." "Who?" asked Sam. "Who what?" asked co-pilot Al. At that moment, a wild-eyed young man burst into the cockpit, carrying a gas canister and wearing an oxygen mask. "Him!" said Al, "Get him, Sam!" Sam lunged for the canister, knocking it out of the man's hands. It hit the floor, release its contents. Sam tried to reach for it, but the man was grappling with him. The co-pilot Al was out, and Al Calavicci was yelling fighting advice to Sam. Sam was already starting to fade, and in desperation, he pulled the mask off of the terrorist. Sam then passed out, and the terrorist took a step towards the controls, and did the same. "Sam!" said Al, "Wake up!" "Doctor Beckett cannot wake up," said Ziggy through the handlink. "Then the plane will crash, Ziggy! I'm the only one awake on the plane, and I'm a hologram!" "Stating the obvious is fruitless, Admiral." "What can I do? Sam will die!" "The only chance for Doctor Beckett's survival is for you to stand as close to him as you can when the plane crashes," Ziggy said coolly, "Which will be in 34.2 seconds." Al moved his hologram form on top of Sam's unconscious body, "What good will this do?" he asked. "The plane will crash into a large energy production plant. The discharge of electricity from the crash has a 76.2 percent chance of--" That was all Al heard, for the plane did indeed hit the power plant, and electrical energy filled his vision, he could even feel it surrounding him and Sam. The shock of him feeling something in the imaging chamber caused him to drop the handlink as he... ********** Thud. Something clearly and distinctly hit Sam on the chest. For a mere instant his eyes opened and he saw a glowing piece of plastic there, and then he passed out again. He awoke again in a small bed. "I must have leaped in my sleep," he thought, "Because this looks very different from where I was." He looked around. The room he was in was spartan, but there was a mirror on the wall. His leaping instincts told him to look in the mirror, and he fell over when he saw the face there. It was HIS face. Dr. Sam Beckett. He looked again. Still himself. He let out a scream of delight. "I'm home! I'm home!" The door to the room quietly opened up, revealing one Dr. Verbena Beeks. "Verbena!" said Sam, "I'm home!" "I can see that, Sam," said Dr. Beeks. "Where's Al?" said Sam, "I have to talk to Al." "Umm... I think you should come with me, Sam." she said, and turned around. She started to walk down the hall. Sam followed her cautiously. The went into the Project Quantum Leap control room. Sam grinned as he entered. Again, he was surrounded by familiar and friendly faces. Gushie. Tina. Donna. Especially Donna. His whole life with her came back to his mind like a tidal wave crashing on him. He quickly went to her and kissed her, and hugged everyone else. Everyone had a slightly sad look on their faces. "What's happened to Al?" Sam asked. Ziggy was the one who answered him. "When American Flight 243 on June 23, 1982 crashed into a power generating facility, the resulting energy discharge was sufficient to cause you and Admiral Calavicci to leap simultaneously, Doctor Beckett." "We cross leaped again?" said Sam, remembering the last time suddenly. He scoured his brain for lustful thoughts. Not a one. "My brain doesn't seem to be affected." "No, you did not exchange any mesons or neurons with Admiral Calavicci," said Ziggy, "Too bad." "Ziggy," Sam said, annoyed. "Due to this simultaneous leap, you and Admiral Calavicci both survived, unlike the 57 passengers and 103 of the power plant employees." Ziggy's tone was sad. Sam felt horrified. It was his last leap, and he failed. He killed 160 people. Ziggy seemed to sense this and added, "No change from the original history." It didn't help. Sam took a deep breath, "OK, where, when and into who did Al leap in to?" "Admiral Calavicci has leaped into July 8, 1945." "Where? And into who?" asked Sam again. Ziggy did not respond. "Ziggy! Answer me!" "Admiral Calavicci did not move in space at all in his leap. He leaped to the exact same point. In addition..." Ziggy paused again. "What?" asked Sam. "Admiral Calavicci has not leaped into anyone. He travelled completely to 1945." "Not leaped into anyone? Ziggy, that's impossible!" "Such a statement is foolish, Doctor Beckett. It is clearly not impossible since it has indeed happened." Sam was about to respond, but decided it was pointless. He looked at the sad faces surrounding him, and then towards the door to the imaging chamber. Al had appeared in 1945 in that very cave they built the chamber in, most likely with a brain like swiss cheese. "July 8th, 1945," Sam said to himself, "Los Alamos, New Mexico." That stirred something in Sam's memory, and then he realized it. "Gushie! Fire up the imaging chamber! Ziggy, handlink!" He grabbed the handlink and ran into the chamber, hoping he wasn't too late to stop Admiral Calavicci from possibly destroying history as he knew it... Marshall Ryan Maresca more soon