Message-Id: Date: Sun, 19 May 96 18:24:40 -0700 (PDT) From: jekel@cts.com (Julie Jekel) Subject: "Top Secret" part 8 TOP SECRET a Quantum Leap/Lois and Clark/X-Files crossover part 8 Before I begin this section, I must apologize for an omission. When I introduced the idea of Ziggy BECOMING Lothos, I neglected to mention that the idea had been planted in my brain by my friend Ed Griffie. :) March 25, 2010 Project Quantum Leap Stallion's Gate, New Mexico "Thames!" Zoe Hammond strode purposefully into the silent control room. A look of irritation crossed her face as she noticed that the lights on the computer console were still dead. Who would have thought the Project would take so long to overhaul! "Thames!" she called again. The Imaging Chamber door slid open, revealing the black man, who was chuckling to himself at some private joke. Zoe wondered briefly if he ever *stopped* laughing. Thames stepped through the door, and punched the manual control that had been installed so they could get from one place to another while the computer was still off-line. "What is taking so long?" she demanded. "The same thing that's been taking a long time for the past ten years--this is a very complex computer." He grinned at her, only increasing her exasperation. "Doctor Beckett had this facility built and running by nineteen ninety-five!" Zoe snapped. "Yeah, well Doctor Beckett was a genius, on top of which, I'd bet he didn't have this baby up and running in a year either. These things take time, Zoe. You've got to learn to be patient." "I don't have time to be patient!" Thames laughed again. "You're joking, right? This is a time machine we're talking about here, remember Zoe, baby?" Her eyes hurled spears of contempt at him. "Don't call me that." "Zoe, how's it coming?" Gregor called cheerily behind them. Zoe rolled her eyes in disgust at the sound of her partner's voice. "We're coming along at a fair pace," Thames reported. "We've been working on Dr. Beckett's string theory, to try to find away to be able to Leap outside the limits of a person's lifetime. It's slowing us down a little bit, but once we get through the rough spots, we should be able to get a fair enough trot going to get this place back on-line as early as May." Abruzzi nodded, pleased. He gestured to Alia, who had been standing behind him. "Well, when that time comes, I'm pleased to announce that it will be my daughter who makes the Leap." Zoe's head came up abruptly, startled. "Her?!" Her eyes swept over Alia. "Gregor, don't you think that's an awful risk to put her at?" she suggested, hoping to talk him out of it. He shook his head. "I don't see why. Our technicians have had plenty of time to perfect the retrieval program, from the notes that were left. All she has to do is go back to the target date, do what she has to do, and come home." "Besides, I want to do it," Alia added. She had inherited her father's stubborness, unfortunately. "I've always wanted to travel in time, and I like the idea of being able to see life through other people's eyes." "It doesn't bother you that your father's asking you to kill for him?" Zoe asked bluntly. Alia winced a little, but held firm. "No. After all, once it's been done, I probably won't remember it anyway." There was a brief pause. Alia was waiting for her words to sink in, Gregor was staying out of the argument until it came time to sway the vote, Thames was watching with that same amused look on his face, and Zoe was considering the implications of Alia's last statement. Curiously enough, that was one aspect of Leaping that had slipped Zoe's mind. Maybe Alia had potential after all... And if HER mind swiss-cheesed as severely as the previous Project staff had reluctantly admitted that Dr. Beckett's was...she might even forget how she'd gotten into this in the first place, and who she was doing it for. The idea had definite appeal. Being careful not to seem too eager in her agreement, Zoe nodded slowly, as if still mulling it over in her mind. "Well, if that's what you want..." she conceded, her voice full of a doubt she no longer felt. The more she thought about it, the more attractive the idea became. She had originally planned to be the one to Leap, using Thames both as her Observer, and to keep Gregor and Alia in line. It would be much easier to control things from the present. And it would be much easier to keep father and daughter in line if she had control over the daughter... "But in that case, I must insist on being allowed to act as Observer. After all, I am the only other female on staff, and should Alia decide to make more than one Leap, I expect my life experiences would be useful to her." "Then it's all settled!" Gregor gave Zoe a quick peck on the cheek, which she steeled herself against to keep from flinching in disgust. With that, the two Abruzzis disappeared into the elevator to return to the upper level. When they were gone, Thames turned to Zoe with a frown. she thought to herself. "Why did you go along with that? I thought you were going to be the one." "But this way I can control everything from here without having to depend on YOU to keep Abruzzi and his daughter in line. Alia's memory will be severely depleted by the Leap, which means I will be able to control her implicitly! I'll be her best friend, her confidante, her ONLY connection to home, and she'll have no way of ever knowing any differently. And when I have her under my control, it will be EASY to make Gregor see things my way." "But he's right about one thing, Zoe. We HAVE almost perfected the Retrieval Program. He could just pull her out if he doesn't like what you're doing." Zoe's face darkened. "Well, then put a flaw into it! Make it so that it can pull her back, but NOT painlessly. Then, if he chooses to use it, I'll have even more power over both of them." "How so?" "Who would you trust more--a father who tortured you, or a friend who tried to get him not to?" Thames' infuriating smile returned in full force, but this time, Zoe simply returned it. "Then when we get Ziggy up and running again--" "DON'T call it Ziggy!" Zoe snapped, whirling angrily on him. "No Ziggy, no 'Waiting Room,' no 'Imaging Chamber'--I want NOTHING of the original Project in mine except the technology!" "Then what DO you want to call it? A computer with a personality deserves a name." A sinister smile crept over Zoe's face. "Call him...Lothos." TO BE CONTINUED... JJ :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "If you believe, even in the face of your so-called facts, miracles do happen." --Sam Beckett, Quantum Leap "A little louder, I don't think they heard you in Gotham City!" --Clark Kent, Lois and Clark "I thought only spies and Nazis said that." "Well, I'm not a Nazi." --Amanda King and Lee Stetson, Scarecrow and Mrs. King "May you live in interesting times." --ancient Chinese curse, quoted by Chance Harper, Strange Luck "Prayers are always answered. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it's no. And sometimes it's 'not yet'." --Monica, Touched by an Angel