BESTSHOWONTV
Cadet
Well, For a while, every time I tried to visit this site, it wouldn't let me in, so here's all the updates I haven't posted yet. (There's a lot of them, so you're warned.)
Chapter 9
Marshall’s POV
I’ve known what it’s like to be excited. I distinctly remember Carrie coming to me, looking completely solemn, right before she told me that she was pregnant. I remember when I was helping Sydney bypass Toni Cumming’s (man, that chick is hot) lethal response system when she (Carrie, not Toni or Sydney) came to me saying, “It’s time.” My first mission is engraved in my mind (that Chinese man, Dr. Lee I think it was, is truly creepy). All of these times were more of a nervous excitement more than anything, but excitement nonetheless.
Knowing what will happen tomorrow, I’m filled with excitement. The best part is that it’s not even nervous excitement. It’s excitement, pure and simple. I am going to be present for the formation of world history. The euphoria I feel is unbelievable.
This turn of events makes me think that perhaps, in time, Star Trek may not be so far fetched. “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Their continuing mission: to explore strange, new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilization; to boldly go where…”
Jack starts speaking, and I focus my attention on him. “With the visit from the ambassador from our parallel universe taking place tomorrow, there are some points I’d like to bring to the forefront.
“First, although we are operating under the assumption that these…beings…are peaceful, I’d just like to state that we could be wrong. Does everyone understand? Sending one person in to do reconnaissance is actually a tried and true military tactic. That could very well be what they’re doing; sending in one operative to scope out our military might in order to adjust their offensive schemes to lay waste to our resistance.
“Now that I’ve stated the potential risk, I’m also going to point out that we are not to use force unless we are fired upon.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Bristow,” I say raising my hand.
“Yes, Marshall?”
“I clear my throat. “As much as I’m looking forward to tomorrow, meeting intelligent life from another planet, and all of that, I am concerned about one aspect of this meeting.”
“Which is?”
“Well,” I start, trying to vocalize my apprehensions. “Have you ever seen Independence Day? It’s that movie with the big, um, saucer-shaped ships that fly all over the world, destroying all big cities with that blue laser-type thing,” (I continue, knowing I’m babbling, but how can I convey the technical aspects of the “laser-type thing” as I phrased it. Would they have known what I was talking about if I called it the super-compressed heat-wave emitter with incendiary capabilities?) “Everyone panics, and Will Smith, I can’t remember his name in the movie, punches out that alien, and then takes it to Area 51, where they discover there’s another alien in the head, and it says, ‘Die! Die!’
There’s mass panic everywhere, not quite on the lines of Savogda, but you know…people are panicking, the media’s going crazy, and whatnot?”
“I fail to see the relevance, and yes, I am familiar with the movie.”
“Right, um, what I was getting to was the reaction of both the public and the media. How are we going to control that?”
Jack’s jaw hardens and I know the next news isn’t going to be pleasant. “There’s going to be an…‘accident’ that will…‘persuade’ people not to venture outside tomorrow. Do you understand?”
I nod, eyes wide. Did Jack just state that they were going to endanger several lives to keep the landing a secret?
As I look around the table, I notice I’m not the only one apprehensive about what was just said. Jack clearly noticed the reactions, also.
“Come on, people, and think it through. It’s not going to be real. Haven’t you ever heard of cover-ups? Haven’t you ever heard of JFK’s assassination?”
(Wow, Jack just admitted that there was another shooter from the grassy knoll.)
A nervous chuckle fills the room, but the chuckles turn into groans when Jack continues. “In order to be here for the meeting and to avoid the accident, I will need you all here by 3 o’ clock tomorrow.”
“A. M?” Weiss asks, and Jack glares at him.
“Yes, Agent Weiss, 3 o’ clock a. m.”
More groans.
“Since you all have an early day tomorrow, you may all go, except for you, Agent Vaughn.”
I gather up my stuff, and leave Jack and Vaughn in the room alone. (I do not envy Vaughn right now.) I look over and see Sydney looking down, confusion on her face.
“Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine. I’ve just got some…personal issues I’m dealing with now.”
“Does it have something to do with Vaughn, or whoever he is?”
“A little bit, yeah.”
“Oh, well, I hope you figure it out.”
“Thanks.”
I nod and walk away. When I reach my Mini Cooper, I start looking for my keys. (Figures I’d lock them in my car.) I pull out my cell phone, and start modifying it so that it would broadcast the unlock frequency. (This isn’t the first time I’ve had to do this.)
The lock pops up, and I climb in and head home. I pull up in front of the house and notice that Carrie’s car is gone. Obviously she’s at work.
I play my phone messages (my three terabyte computer is finally in), and as I’m walking by my place at the table I see a note.
Marshall, when you get this, we need to talk.
I try Carrie’s phone, but I don’t get an answer. Grabbing my…not again (cell phone, work your magic)…unlocking my car door, I grab my keys and drive over to the NSA building, where I request a meeting with Carrie.
Minutes later, she comes down, smiling when she sees me. Her eyes are red. Apparently she’s been listening to Jodi Michaels, no, that’s not right, Joni….what? Joni Mitchell, the name suddenly pops into my head.
She hugs me when she reaches me. “What are you doing here so early?”
“Work let out early. What’s going on?”
She swallows hard. Oh, no, I think to myself.
“I had my yearly physical last week. Most of the stuff was simple; I passed it with flying colors. My blood work, however, was taking a while.”
“Why?”
“There were heightened levels of HCG.”
“HCG?” I ask, bewildered.
“Human chorionic gonadotropin,” she answers, but doesn’t answer why she’s acting like she is.
“Which is?”
“Marshall,” she says, placing her hand on my shoulder, “I’m pregnant.”
I feel very light-headed. The world spins, and everything goes black.
…TBC…
Chapter 10
Vaughn’s POV
“D*** alarm” I mumble to myself as I hit the button that silences it. Jack gave us all the night off to get enough sleep, but Sydney and I both had other things on our mind. Sure, we stopped earlier than we had planned, but still, waking up to a blaring alarm at two in the morning is never a pleasant experience.
I kiss Sydney gently on the neck, and then explore the area with my tongue. (She’s the most ticklish in that spot.) Usually when I do this, Sydney turns into a wriggling, laughing mess. This morning she just rolls over slightly and looks at me.
“Not this morning, Vaughn—Kendall—whatever, I’ve got a killer headache.”
“Syd, you can call me whatever you want.”
“Vaughn?”
“Yeah?”
“Could you get me some aspirin?”
I smile at her. “Of course.”
I roll out of the bed, walk over to where I had discarded my clothes from the night before, and slip on my boxers, and head over to the bathroom. Opening up the medicine cabinet, I push aside my shaving cream and some of her make-up, finally laying my hands on a small bottle. Tapping out two pills, I walk into the kitchen and grab a glass.
(As unfortunate as it is about Nadia, I must admit that I do like being the only ones in the apartment. I remember one time when Sydney asked me to get a drink, I ran into Nadia, who wasn’t fully dressed either. Talk about awkward. I’m just glad it wasn’t Weiss, although Sydney told me she’s gotten an eyeful herself.)
That’s beside the point, though. I fill up the glass, and take it in to Sydney who’s also starting to get dressed.
“Do you want to shower first or should I?” I ask.
She looks over at me and smiles. “Who said anything about first?”
Thirty minutes later, we both emerge from the shower, soaking wet. “Do you want breakfast?”
She groans. “It’s too early.”
“Syd?”
“Yeah?”
“Is everything all right?”
“What? Why are you asking?”
“You’ve been acting a bit…strange since we got back together.”
“I’m fine, Vaughn.”
I know I have no reason to, but I don’t believe her. Something has been off in our relationship.
As I drive to APO, I glance over and see Sydney rotating the ring on her finger.
“Are you having second thoughts?”
She looks at me and then looks down. Something’s clearly wrong. This is how she acts when she’s not telling me something. She puts on a brave face, but little tics give her away.
“I’m just…” she begins, and then looks at me. “Please keep your eyes on the road.”
What she just said hurts, but I know I deserve it. “Syd?”
“I got used to not wearing this for those two months. It feels a little foreign.”
I nod and keep driving. I’m not going to force it out of her, but I learned in the DSR that people tend to be more apparent when they’re tired. Their true colors shine through more readily.
The rest of the ride is plagued by an unnatural silence, so the stark contrast of a beaming Marshall greeting us when we walk into APO is a bit of a surprise. He hands me a cigar, then Sydney gets one, too, but she politely declines.
“What’s the occasion? Is it the meeting today?”
“Not at all. I’m going to be a dad again.”
I smile. “Congratulations, Marshall.”
I glance over at Sydney. She smiles, but it’s clearly just a smile of politeness. “Congratulations,” she says, and then starts to walk away.
I follow her. “Syd, what’s wrong?”
She shakes her head, and a tear starts rolling down her cheek. I brush it away with my hand, and then lift her face to mine. “What is it?”
“Carrie…” she starts, and then begins crying again.
“What is it?”
“Carrie’s not the only one…”
“She’s not the only one that’s pregnant? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
Sydney nods, clearly plagued by something she's not telling me.
"What aren't you telling me."
"I feel so guilty."
"What did you do?"
"When I found out..."
"What?"
"I considered...ending..."
I realize what she's saying. "Did you do it?"
Sydney looks at me apologetically. "I was at the clinic, but I couldn't go through with it."
...TBC...
Chapter 11 (Varied POVs)
Sydney’s POV
I look at his face, the shock quite evident. “Vaughn, I…”
“You’re still pregnant, right?”
I nod nervously. “I couldn’t go through with it.”
Even through the tears that are forming in his eyes, he smiles. “I’m going to be a daddy.”
“You’re going to be a daddy,” I say, a smile forming on my face.
His smile fades. “What is it?”
“You didn’t talk to me for two months after the accident.”
“So?”
“So…you were pregnant when the the car hit?”
“I didn’t know about it, but, yeah.”
“Oh, geez,” I hear him mumble quietly. “Is he…she…it all right?”
“The doctors are saying that…it’s fine.”
“You don’t know the…”
“Gender? No, I don’t.” He nods slowly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“That would have required speaking to you. I didn’t want to go through that.”
“Not then. I understand that. Why didn’t you tell me when we got back together.”
I sigh. “It was too perfect. I didn’t want to…blemish that.”
“Blemish? Syd, this is a blessing.”
I sigh and nod slowly.
“Does Jack know?”
Jack’s POV
She told him. I told her she had to, but still, it’s always a shock to hear the woman you love tell you she’s pregnant.
~ ~ ~
“Jack, Sweetheart, could you come in here please?”
My feet were up, and I was comfortable. Arvin and I had just infiltrated the lab in Lima where the terrorists-of-the-month were cooking up some VX poison gas. The fight was short lived. The goons that tried to stop us had been trained in basic fighting techniques; techniques that we had learned to block and use to our advantage on The Farm.
Getting the containers was a bit more difficult. We were forced to break into a safe using just a telephone. (That is also taught early on at The Farm, but still, it was an unneeded detainment.)
I sigh and get up, walking over to where Laura was standing with a smile on her face. “Jack, I got some great news today.”
“Really?” I ask, perking up, like only Laura can make me do.
“Jack, I’m pregnant.”
~ ~ ~
Although I had been apprehensive when Laura…excuse me, Irina told me she was pregnant, every time I look over at Sydney, my daughter, the one thing in my life that matters most, even more than my life matters, I’m filled with a sense of pride. The idea that such an incredible woman exists, and that that woman just happens to be my daughter, fills me with an odd optimism for the future.
And now, I’m going to be a grandpa.
Weiss’s POV
Sydney clearly told Vaughn something major judging from the look on their faces, and then when I look over at Jack, he seems lost in thought. What the h*** is going on? I ask myself. I see Sydney smile at Vaughn, and lean in for a kiss before going their separate ways.
“Syd?” I call out, and watch as she walks towards me.
“Yeah, Weiss? What is it?”
“I just wanted to remind you that…” I try to continue, but I can’t.
“About Nadia, right?” she asks, and I nod emphatically.
“Don’t worry. I’ll remember to ask the ambassador.”
“Speaking of that, when are they coming?”
Sydney opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off by Director Chase who has just walked in.
I look over at Ms. Chase, and see a familiar bald headed man standing behind her. She makes the general announcement that Kendall will be attending the landing of the ambassador in about a half an hour.
Vaughn’s POV
I glance down at my watch as Sydney walks back over to me. “Vaughn,” she calls out, and I stop.
“What is it?”
“Seeing your dad, it…it reminded me of a question I was going to ask you.”
“Yeah?”
“Two, actually. First, did he tell you that I was alive? He knew.”
I sigh and shake my head. “I’d left the CIA and the DSR shortly after you ‘died.’ When he found out, I didn’t have a high enough security clearance, so he was forced to withhold that information.”
She nods slowly.
“You said there were two questions?”
“When you were sick from the water from the Mueller device, he was willing to let you die, because when Sark asked me to kill Sloane, he wouldn’t authorize it.”
She brought that up, I think to myself. “Syd, he was working behind the scenes, trying to buy off an employee at that warehouse. You met Sark’s demands before he could get the cure, though.”
“Vaughn?”
She looks at me, a look of disbelief in her eyes. “Yes?”
“Tell me the truth.”
“Syd,” I begin, “After Mom left Dad, we fell apart. We were almost like strangers when we started at the DSR. I was under someone else’s command when I was there, but we tried to develop a relationship. We were just starting to…” I stop talking and swallow hard. “We were just starting to get to know each other when I was given the option to infiltrate the CIA. I took it. I think he kind of took that as a betrayal, and when he became the director at JTF, we weren’t on the greatest of terms. He was working behind the scenes, but he knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere, so he was just hoping that the typical Bristow stubbornness would come through and you’d kill Sloane even though he was required to tell you not to do it.
“He was rooting for you. You just didn’t know it.”
She looks at me. “If I would have succeeded, what would he have done? He would have been legally obligated to report me.”
“He would have written it off as covert DSR work and let you get on with your life.”
She’s clearly considering what I said when Dad comes over at looks at us.
“We need to get going,” he says, nods, and walks away.
Sydney’s POV
We arrive at the meet site a few minutes later. A quiet hum starts sounding and we all look up. A small round object is hovering above us. As it descends lower, darkness covers the ground.
The craft lands effortlessly. I stare in awe at the mechanical marvel before us. A hiss sounds in conjunction with a quick release of steam as the ramp lowers. Another shadow appears. As the inhabitant of the ship starts down the ramp, I see the legs. Moments later, I can see the waist, followed by an upper body, and then finally the head appears. I stare at the person’s face, not paying attention to how everyone is staring at me.
It’s creepy just how similar we look. She’s got my face and my body. It’s almost like she’s my twin. I stand there in shock as she finishes descending the ramp. She takes her first step onto Earth’s soil, and quickly grabs her stomach, before falling to the ground, moaning in pain.
…TBC…
Chapter 12
Parallel Sydney's POV
I never believed in life on other planets. The whole concept of aliens and UFOs and all the other stuff like that just seemed ridiculous to me. (I think that might have had to do with having Dad as my father. He was always stressing the importance of everything having an explanation; of course that's when he was home.)
When I first started working at SD-6, the whole concept that all things have a reasonable explanation went out the window. I saw things that were so crazy that, after a while, a small floating red ball full of water almost seemed normal.
While I've grown accustomed to the strange and unexplainable nature of the world I live in, Kendall's announcement that our world was in danger and that it had been agreed to contact a parallel universe in order to seek refuge was so far out of the realm of the believable-unbelievability that I was sure I was dreaming. His subsequent announcement of his true affiliation with the DSR just added to the weirdness that was my life.
~ ~ ~
"We have a spaceship from the landing at Roswell, and we plan to use this ship to travel to that planet. What I need from you all is a volunteer to take the trip. Do I have any takers?"
~ ~ ~
I had no intention of volunteering, but when Vaughn's hand went up, I knew that he'd want some company on the trip. I was right. Three days later, the ship took off from Earth, and as we sailed through the vast darkness, he chose then to tell me about his history with the DSR.
I was shocked, of course, but as that old saying goes, "Love is never having to say you're sorry."
After all that had happened up to this point, I wasn't going to let a little secret get in the way of such a promising relationship. As time wore on in the complete and utter darkness, we both realized that there was really only one way to pass the time. (If you ever get a chance, getting it on in zero-gravity is so erotic it’s not even funny.)
After about a week and a half on the ship, we were alerted that we were nearing Parallel Earth number 137. I transmitted the distress call and waited for a response which came promptly. When we finally agreed on a landing site and time, we adjusted our speed accordingly.
Three days later, there we were, landing on a parallel version of our planet. I could see my parallel self standing there, waiting for me.
Suddenly, as I stepped of the ramp of the ship, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. The easiest way to describe it is like someone had thrust a knife into my abdomen and began pulling on something inside me. I passed out before I knew what had happened.
I don’t know how long it was until I woke up in the hospital bed, an IV in my arm, and an ethnic doctor looking over me.
“How are you feeling, ma’am?”
“My stomach hurts,” I mumble, looking up at him.
“I’ve gone over your vitals six times already. There’s nothing abnormal about them.”
“What’d you compare them to?”
“To the Sydney of this universe. Sydney 1 if you wish.”
I pull up my hospital gown so that I can examine my stomach quickly. My eyes quickly land on an odd scar. I know I didn’t have this scar when I left.
“What’s this?”
“That’s where your eggs were extracted.”
“When…Why were my eggs extracted.”
“I don’t know. When I got your…pardon me…Sydney 1’s file, she had reported that her eggs had been extracted.”
“Can I talk to her?”
“Of course,” he says, and leaves. Moments later, I…she walks through the door.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Why were my eggs extracted?”
“You don’t know?”
“No,” I state clearly. “Should I know?”
“It happened during the two years.”
“What two years?”
“After the fight with Allison…”
“Who’s Allison? Is that Vaughn’s ex-girlfriend’s real name?”
“No, her name is Alice.”
“Then who’s Allison?”
“She’s Francie’s double.”
“Double? You mean with Markovich’s machine?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s Francie? She’s the second double?”
“Yeah. What year are you from?”
“We left in 2003. What year is it now?”
“It’s 2007.”
The words sink in.
“You guys are from four years in the future?”
“I guess from your point of view, yeah. From my point of view, however, you’re from four years in the past.”
“What’s going on with Vaughn and you? Are you married?”
“No, we’re just engaged.”
“It’s been four years, and you’re just engaged?” I ask incredulously.
“He was married to Lauren for…”
“He got married to someone?”
“During my missing two years.”
“What do you mean ‘missing two years’?” I ask, but I’m not sure I want to know.
“After my fight with Allison, Francie’s double, I passed out. When I woke up, I was in Hong Kong with a strange scar on my stomach.”
“Where the eggs were extracted.”
“Right. Vaughn came to the safe house where I was staying. He had a ring on his finger. I asked him about it, and he told me that I had been missing…” she starts to tear up. “He told me that I had been missing for two years, and in that time, he’d gotten married.”
“To who?”
“Lauren Reed. She was the daughter of Senator Reed and Olivia Reed.”
“Was?”
“Vaughn killed her.”
“Why?”
“She was evil.”
“Vaughn married an evil woman?”
“She was a double agent for a terrorist organization who had been ordered to seduce and marry him.”
“Will the Vaughn on the ship marry her?”
“Wait, is Vaughn’s parallel version here too?”
“Yeah, he’s here.”
“Why didn’t he come out?”
Before I can answer, the doctor comes in again. “Just ignore me. I need to check on the baby.”
“Baby? I’m not pregnant!”
“Well, you are now.”
I look over at my parallel self. “Are you?”
She nods slowly.
“Oh, s***,” I say quietly. This isn’t good.
“What is it?”
“Sydney,” I start, “I need you to do me a favor.”
…TBC…
Chapter 13
Parallel Vaughn’s POV
I watched in utter horror as Sydney, the girl of my dreams, collapsed and withered on the ground outside of the ship. Dad had warned me that we were dealing with the great unknown contacting a parallel planet, and that he couldn’t give me an adequate idea of what to expect upon arrival.
Of course I dismissed these theories. They were obviously desperate attempts to scare me into staying. Little did I know that he was right. We are dealing with the unknown.
I yearn to leave the ship. I long to run to Sydney’s side and comfort her; however, I know that the odds are great that if I leave this ship, I’ll suffer the same consequences as her.
We’ve only been a couple for about three weeks now, but considering just how far our relationship has come in the year and a half since we met, I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I had considered proposing on this trip, but even I knew that it was too soon. (That didn’t stop me from buying the ring, however.)
I listen for the sound of the traffic, a mainstay in all of Los Angeles, but only silence greets my ears.
I know I shouldn’t, but I poke my head out into the air. I feel fine. I take a step forward. I still feel fine. Two more steps. Nothing. I look down. My feet are at the edge of the ramp. I look up.
The h*** with it, I say to myself.
I take my first step onto this Earth’s soil. A stabbing pain hits me in my lower abdomen and my back, and I can feel several other sore spots on me. Grabbing firmly on both sides of my dress up shirt, I rip it open and stare down at the scar that has just formed on my stomach. I taste a disgusting creamy semi-solid liquid on my tongue.
It makes me gag. I put my hand up to my mouth as I cough violently. My head is throbbing. The last things I see before I lose consciousness is blood on my hand, and the rocky pavement coming closer.
Vaughn 1’s POV
Sitting in the waiting room is never pleasant. There’s an old lady reading the most recent Time Magazine.
I feel a liquid run from my forehead, to my nose, and as it passes by my eye, I can detect a red coloration to it. I put my hand to my head, and when I pull my hand away, it’s covered in blood. I feel lightheaded, and as my body lurches forward, I manage to mumble, “Get help! Please.” I can only hope she heard me.
…TBC…
Chapter 14
Kendall’s POV
I’ve been sitting outside of this room for over three hours now. I don’t like to wait, but since I’m not family, they’ve been keeping me out of the room with the ambassador the whole time she’s been here.
Sydney went in just a few minutes ago.
The door opens and I look up. She’s standing in the doorway; her hand bandaged slightly.
“What happened?” I ask.
“We’ve got a problem.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know how to explain it, but she…” Sydney says, gesturing with her head toward the room, “she’s getting my injuries. She’s from about four and a half years in the past, but yet, her eggs have been extracted and she’s pregnant, neither of which has happened to me until now.”
The words start to sink in. “Is that why you…” I trail off and nod toward her hand.
“We had to test our theory to make sure it was accurate.”
Suddenly, another realization hits me. “You said she was pregnant? You’re indicating she got that from you, right?”
“Yeah,” she says, and my eyes go wide. “You’re going to be a grandpa.”
“Male? Female? Hermaphrodite?” I don’t know why I said that last part, but it causes Sydney to smirk ever so slightly, and I look at her expectantly.
“I…I don’t know.”
“It is Vaughn’s right?”
She nods somberly, and looks at me. An unnatural silence hangs in the air. We’ve said all we really need to say, but yet it feels like there’s still stuff left to be said.
“I’m going to go call Jessica. I dislike her, but she deserves to know.”
Sydney smiles again, and I turn and walk away.
As I’m walking down the hall, several doctors rush by me, and in the short amount of time that my eyes rested on the patient, I recognized him immediately. “Michael,” I mutter quietly.
I want to follow them; I want to know what’s wrong with them, but Sydney’s remarks about how parallel versions seem to share ailments echoes in my mind, and the next thing I know, I find myself running down the steps to my car.
I arrive at the landing site a few minutes later. I can clearly make out a body lying on the ground, a small puddle of blood forming around his head. Running over, I turn the limp body over.
He has a pulse, and his breaths are ragged, but steady. I work hard to maneuver Vaughn to a position that will allow me to move him better.
When I finally get him into my car, I spray gravel as I speed out of the parking lot.
On my way back to the hospital, I hear an announcement on the radio that the “accident” from this morning has been cleaned up, and that travel can be resumed.
I know that I should quickly flip a U-turn and head back to the ship to conceal evidence of it, but I continue on the path to the hospital. I need to save him.
The doctors take over when I finally arrive at the hospital, and once again I can relax. I remember that I’m supposed to call Jessica, but as I head for a payphone, I see the spaceship on the TV.
I can’t hear the newswoman, but I already know it’s too late. We’ve been exposed.
One word comes to mind as this realization sinks in. “S***!”
…TBC…
Chapter 15
Weiss’s POV
I’ve been waiting in the hospital for several hours now. I want to go home and get some rest (I really don’t enjoy getting up at 2:00 am), but I wait in the lobby for any news to be announced. The TV is on, but muted, and I’m not paying much attention to it; I’m much more intrigued by this story I’m reading in Reader’s Digest. I hear my name spoken and I look up to see Sydney standing before me, her hand bandaged.
“What happened?”
“There may be a way to cure Nad…”
I look up at her to see why she stopped talking, and that’s when I see the spaceship on the TV.
“Not good,” she mutters quietly. She shakes her head slowly. “What do we do?”
I shrug, and then sigh nervously. “There’s really nothing we can do.”
“We’ve been exposed,” suddenly I hear Kendall say, and I look over at him. “We’re going to let the media put whatever sort of spin they want to on this. I talked to…” he trails off as he looks at Sydney. “I talked to the other you,” he says, emanating a weird feeling of uncertainty, a trait I have never seen in Kendall before. “She told me that the ship is from Area 51. I contacted a co-worker who has been working on controlling the spaceship we have there by computers. She said that she could probably hack into this spaceship and fly it over to Area 51. It’s a risky procedure, but I gave her the go ahead.”
Minutes later, the reporter was gesturing emphatically as the ramp on the ship closed, and it slowly rose into the air, and then streaked through the sky with an unbelievable speed.
“That’s that,” Kendall said, and walked away.
I look over at Sydney, who’s slowly shaking her head.
“What is it?” I ask, concerned.
She shakes her head again. “I love Vaughn. I love him more than anything. I’m just a little apprehensive about having Kendall be my father-in-law.”
“I understand.” I glance over at her, and speak again. “Not to change the topic, but didn’t you say something about possibly being able to save Nadia?”
She nods, and smiles. (Considering all Sydney has been through in the past four years, it’s nice to see her smile on occasion.)
“It’s just a theory right now, but…” she trails off, and then asks if she’s explained how Sydney (the other Sydney, that is) got her injuries. I tell her that she hasn’t and she proceeds to explain what happened to Other Sydney (Syd2 if you will).
When she finishes, I look up at her completely confused. “How does that help us?”
“I’ve been thinking about it. Perhaps my parallel version got my injuries because I have a stronger…” she pauses, searching for the right word, “life-wave…” she says, and pauses again. “Perhaps I have a stronger life-wave than she does because I’m a native of this specific universe. Perhaps if I were to go to their planet, they’d have a stronger life-wave. If that’s the case, if they take Nadia back with them when they head back for their planet, perhaps she’ll get cured. Perhaps Nadia’s parallel version will be able to cure this universe’s Nadia. It’s a long shot, but who knows? It may work.”
I start to feel a sense of hope, but it soon fades. “What if it doesn’t work? What if we just contaminate Parallel Nadia? Then we’d have two Nadias, neither able to cure the other.”
“The way I see it is that if we try and it works, we get Nadia back. If we try and fail, we won’t have gained anything, but we won’t have lost anything. If this Nadia stays contaminated, and the other Nadia doesn’t get contaminated, then she’ll be contaminated upon arrival on this planet. If that Nadia gets contaminated, and they leave her there on that planet, Parallel Nadia will die, but this Nadia won’t. It’s going to be risky no matter what, so why not hope for the best?”
I think about what she just said.
“I wanted to ask your opinion before authorizing it. What do you think? Do you want to try it?”
I look at Sydney and smile. I reach up to my neck and grab a hold of the necklace I’m wearing. Taking it off, I hand it to her.
She slowly turns the ring at the end of the chain in her hand.
“It’s my grandma’s,” I explain quietly. Vaughn told me that he was planning on proposing, and I told him about how I had been considering it myself. He told me that, if you would both agree to it, we could have a double wedding. I was going to pop the question when you all got back from Savogda, but…” I trail off. “Do anything you can to save her.”
She smiles and nods. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She hands me the ring and walks away.
For the first time since I found out about what had happened to Nadia, I genuinely smile.
…TBC…
Chapter 16
Sydney2’s POV
Pain is a funny thing. When I landed on this planet, I keeled over from the stabbing pain in my abdomen, and now I feel fine. (The drugs they gave me probably helped a little, though.) The doctors warns me to take it easy as I gather everything together.
The three hours that I've been in her went by quickly. Part of that was probably my conversation with...myself...I guess that’s the only way to phrase it quickly. She graciously agreed to let me stay at her place.
I’m actually quite excited to see her new apartment. She didn’t go into much detail about why she moved, but I have a feeling it has something to do with those two years she’s so quiet about.
The CNA’s transfer me to a wheel chair and wheel me down to the lobby, where everyone turns and stares at me. I wave slightly. “Are you ready to go?” I…she…parallel me asks.
I nod slowly. “Yeah.”
Parallel Sydney (or perhaps Original Sydney) helps me out of the chair, and as I gain my footing, I follow her as she walks out to her car.
The drive home is amazing, but not in a good way. Countless people are lining the street holding up hastily made signs, some reading, “Go Back Home,” “We Don’t Need You Here!” “You Are NOT Welcome Here!!” “Leave NOW,” and, the most simple and to the point, “DIE!”
In stark contrast, other people were holding up such signs as, “Welcome,” “Make Yourselves At Home,” “I Hope You Have A Cure for Cancer,” and “Abduct ME!” The third group of signs really weren’t able to be classified. “Do You Want Your Anal Probe Back?” “Please Bring Back Elvis,” and “Mulder was right: We Are NOT Alone!”
I shake my head in disgust. “What is it?” I…Sydney 1 asks.
“They don’t even know what they’re dealing with and they’ve already taken sides.” I see another sign that says, “DIE!” and I instruct Sydney 1 to stop the car.
“What are you going to do?” concern quite evident in her voice.
“Just stop the d*** car.”
“Syd…”
“Stop the car.” I feel the car slow, and I open the door and head back towards that man. He’s shouting profanities and spewing felgercarb about how this is the end of civilization.
“Send those scum suckers back to where they came from!” I can feel some stomach acid rise to my mouth, giving me that disgusting just-vommitted taste.
“Am I to take it that you don’t want them here?” I ask bluntly. He gives me a once-over and nods in approval.
“Well, if they looked like you, I’d have to re-evaluate my position.”
“Well, start re-evaluating, you a**hole.”
His eyes narrow. “You’re one of them?”
“I guess you’re not as slow as you seem.”
He stares at me for a bit, and then turns his head and says loudly, “She’s one of them!”
Slowly the other men begin to surround me.
“I think a nice welcoming is in order,” one of the thugs says, and then throws a punch.
(I’m starting to see now how in all those sci-fi movies I used to see with Charlie why humans were always under the control of robots. If the first contact with an alternate life form is to start a fight, and with a basic punch that I learned early on how to deflect, then obviously the human race is doomed to a future of violence, destruction, and death.)
I use a simple evasive maneuver that I was taught at SD-6 to block his attack and to pin his arm in a very uncomfortable position behind his back. I’m usually not very violent; I don’t believe in using more force than is necessary, but after all I’ve been through, something in me clicks, and I force the arm back until I hear a sickening, yet satisfying “Pop.”
The man falls to the ground moaning in pain, and I look around at all the other men waiting for a shot at me and think quietly to myself, “This is going to be fun.”
They begin closing in.
A gunshot rings out.
My eyes go wide as the man in front of me drops to the ground.
…TBC…
Chapter 17
Irina’s POV
It’s been a long, long year. I remember talking with him online.
~ ~ ~
“IRINA. HAVE INTEL ON COVENANT ENDGAME. NEED TO DISCUSS.” My eyes danced quickly over the entry on my screen, and I typed out a simple response.
“What do you need?”
“I NEED INFORMATION ABOUT THE PASSENGER,” he had typed back. (One disadvantage of posing as an English teacher for as long as I did is that the fact that he omitted a period irks me.)
I had managed to get “How did you fi…” typed when I heard movement behind me. I had turned just in time to see Elena jab a needle into my neck.
When I woke up next, I was in that d*** hole in the ground.
~ ~ ~
I hear a siren in the background and quickly head over to my bag. I didn’t have much in the way of clothes when I left Savogda, but since so many people had died there, finding an ample supply of cash, clothing, and certain weapons was relatively simple.
While I know that it’s not proper etiquette to steal from dead people, I rationalize it by reminding myself that this stuff is not going to get used anyway.
The siren is getting closer, and I cautiously peer through the window curtains. The cop car stops in front of the Wal-Mart across the street. Quickly opening my bag, I pull out the binoculars.
As I survey the front of the store, it’s clear that there’s a mass panic. People are looting, and I see the cop run out and un-holster his gun.
The man with the grocery cart stops running and puts his hands behind his head. Suddenly I see another man sneak up behind the cop with a wooden board and swings it at the officers head. My eyes widen as the cop crumples to the ground at the impact.
I quickly turn on the TV, where I see a reporter standing in the middle of utter chaos. I’m listening as hard as I can to figure out what’s going on.
Only one thought comes to mind as the report continues. I need to contact Jack.
…TBC…
Chapter 18
Vaughn 1’s POV
“Take it easy,” the nurse warns me.
“Trust me,” I say looking her in the eye, “I’ve been through worse.”
“Perhaps, but still, with the aliens and everything, who knows what’s going to happen next.”
“Aliens?” I ask, more concerned about the security of our mission than getting the facts.
“It’s on the news. Some people discovered a spaceship, but there was no one in it. Clearly they’re on the loose.”
“How do we even know the ship was even inhabited?”
“Well, if it wasn’t inhabited, then how did it get here?”
I consider this question for a while. I can’t let her know that I know more than I’m letting on. “Auto-pilot?”
“I highly doubt it.”
“Well, whatever, it doesn’t matter. No one’s died yet, have they?”
“No one’s died because of the aliens.”
I look back at her. “What do you mean?”
“People are going postal. We’ve already had 16 gunshot wounds, 59 stabbings, 47 car crashes, and out of those, twelve people have died. It’s a madhouse out there.”
I shake my head in disbelief. I hear a familiar voice from the hallway. Sydney’s back.
Sydney 2’s POV
“What happened,” a nurse asks me as I carry the limp body into the emergency room.
“We had a small misunderstanding. He was about to hit me, when I heard a gunshot, and he fell to the ground,” I tell her truthfully.
“Who shot him?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. It came out of nowhere.”
“We’ve been seeing a lot of this, today.”
“Is he going to be alright?” I ask her. I really don’t care, but no one deserves to die like this.
“I’m not a doctor,” she starts, and I figure the news is going to be bad; “It doesn’t appear that the bullet has pierced anything vital.”
“So it’s possible he’ll be fine?”
“Yeah,” she says and I let out a happy sigh.
They transfer him to a gurney, and I walk along as they wheel him down the hallway. They keep asking me questions, and I answer to the best of my knowledge.
We’re getting close to the OR when I hear a familiar voice behind me. “Syd?”
I turn and see Vaughn standing in the doorway. “Hey,” I mumble breathlessly.
“You alright?” he asks and I smile.
“I’m fine.”
“Come here,” he says. I walk towards him, and we join in a long kiss.
“Vaughn!” I hear someone yell out. I turn and see myself (Sydney 1) standing a few feet away. As soon as she sees my face, she relaxes.
“Wait,” Vaughn says, backing away. Looking at me, he demands, “Which Sydney are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you the native to this planet?”
“No.” His eyes go wide.
“Oh, s***,” he mumbles quietly. “Sorry baby,” he says this time directing it at the other me.
“Well,” she says with a sly grin, “If you’re going to cheat, I’d rather it be with me.”
We all laugh.
“Wait a moment, though,” I say suddenly. “Where’s my Vaughn?”
Yet another voice joins the group. “Look behind you,” Vaughn (the other one) says.
I turn around with a smile and a kiss for him.
“Let’s get out of here,” Sydney (not me) says.
Jack’s POV
“You got everything?” I ask Irina as she tosses her bag in my car and gets in the front seat.
“Yes.”
“Good,” I say, grinning like only Irina can make me do. “Let’s get out of here.”
…TBC…
Chapter 9
Marshall’s POV
I’ve known what it’s like to be excited. I distinctly remember Carrie coming to me, looking completely solemn, right before she told me that she was pregnant. I remember when I was helping Sydney bypass Toni Cumming’s (man, that chick is hot) lethal response system when she (Carrie, not Toni or Sydney) came to me saying, “It’s time.” My first mission is engraved in my mind (that Chinese man, Dr. Lee I think it was, is truly creepy). All of these times were more of a nervous excitement more than anything, but excitement nonetheless.
Knowing what will happen tomorrow, I’m filled with excitement. The best part is that it’s not even nervous excitement. It’s excitement, pure and simple. I am going to be present for the formation of world history. The euphoria I feel is unbelievable.
This turn of events makes me think that perhaps, in time, Star Trek may not be so far fetched. “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Their continuing mission: to explore strange, new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilization; to boldly go where…”
Jack starts speaking, and I focus my attention on him. “With the visit from the ambassador from our parallel universe taking place tomorrow, there are some points I’d like to bring to the forefront.
“First, although we are operating under the assumption that these…beings…are peaceful, I’d just like to state that we could be wrong. Does everyone understand? Sending one person in to do reconnaissance is actually a tried and true military tactic. That could very well be what they’re doing; sending in one operative to scope out our military might in order to adjust their offensive schemes to lay waste to our resistance.
“Now that I’ve stated the potential risk, I’m also going to point out that we are not to use force unless we are fired upon.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Bristow,” I say raising my hand.
“Yes, Marshall?”
“I clear my throat. “As much as I’m looking forward to tomorrow, meeting intelligent life from another planet, and all of that, I am concerned about one aspect of this meeting.”
“Which is?”
“Well,” I start, trying to vocalize my apprehensions. “Have you ever seen Independence Day? It’s that movie with the big, um, saucer-shaped ships that fly all over the world, destroying all big cities with that blue laser-type thing,” (I continue, knowing I’m babbling, but how can I convey the technical aspects of the “laser-type thing” as I phrased it. Would they have known what I was talking about if I called it the super-compressed heat-wave emitter with incendiary capabilities?) “Everyone panics, and Will Smith, I can’t remember his name in the movie, punches out that alien, and then takes it to Area 51, where they discover there’s another alien in the head, and it says, ‘Die! Die!’
There’s mass panic everywhere, not quite on the lines of Savogda, but you know…people are panicking, the media’s going crazy, and whatnot?”
“I fail to see the relevance, and yes, I am familiar with the movie.”
“Right, um, what I was getting to was the reaction of both the public and the media. How are we going to control that?”
Jack’s jaw hardens and I know the next news isn’t going to be pleasant. “There’s going to be an…‘accident’ that will…‘persuade’ people not to venture outside tomorrow. Do you understand?”
I nod, eyes wide. Did Jack just state that they were going to endanger several lives to keep the landing a secret?
As I look around the table, I notice I’m not the only one apprehensive about what was just said. Jack clearly noticed the reactions, also.
“Come on, people, and think it through. It’s not going to be real. Haven’t you ever heard of cover-ups? Haven’t you ever heard of JFK’s assassination?”
(Wow, Jack just admitted that there was another shooter from the grassy knoll.)
A nervous chuckle fills the room, but the chuckles turn into groans when Jack continues. “In order to be here for the meeting and to avoid the accident, I will need you all here by 3 o’ clock tomorrow.”
“A. M?” Weiss asks, and Jack glares at him.
“Yes, Agent Weiss, 3 o’ clock a. m.”
More groans.
“Since you all have an early day tomorrow, you may all go, except for you, Agent Vaughn.”
I gather up my stuff, and leave Jack and Vaughn in the room alone. (I do not envy Vaughn right now.) I look over and see Sydney looking down, confusion on her face.
“Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine. I’ve just got some…personal issues I’m dealing with now.”
“Does it have something to do with Vaughn, or whoever he is?”
“A little bit, yeah.”
“Oh, well, I hope you figure it out.”
“Thanks.”
I nod and walk away. When I reach my Mini Cooper, I start looking for my keys. (Figures I’d lock them in my car.) I pull out my cell phone, and start modifying it so that it would broadcast the unlock frequency. (This isn’t the first time I’ve had to do this.)
The lock pops up, and I climb in and head home. I pull up in front of the house and notice that Carrie’s car is gone. Obviously she’s at work.
I play my phone messages (my three terabyte computer is finally in), and as I’m walking by my place at the table I see a note.
Marshall, when you get this, we need to talk.
I try Carrie’s phone, but I don’t get an answer. Grabbing my…not again (cell phone, work your magic)…unlocking my car door, I grab my keys and drive over to the NSA building, where I request a meeting with Carrie.
Minutes later, she comes down, smiling when she sees me. Her eyes are red. Apparently she’s been listening to Jodi Michaels, no, that’s not right, Joni….what? Joni Mitchell, the name suddenly pops into my head.
She hugs me when she reaches me. “What are you doing here so early?”
“Work let out early. What’s going on?”
She swallows hard. Oh, no, I think to myself.
“I had my yearly physical last week. Most of the stuff was simple; I passed it with flying colors. My blood work, however, was taking a while.”
“Why?”
“There were heightened levels of HCG.”
“HCG?” I ask, bewildered.
“Human chorionic gonadotropin,” she answers, but doesn’t answer why she’s acting like she is.
“Which is?”
“Marshall,” she says, placing her hand on my shoulder, “I’m pregnant.”
I feel very light-headed. The world spins, and everything goes black.
…TBC…
Chapter 10
Vaughn’s POV
“D*** alarm” I mumble to myself as I hit the button that silences it. Jack gave us all the night off to get enough sleep, but Sydney and I both had other things on our mind. Sure, we stopped earlier than we had planned, but still, waking up to a blaring alarm at two in the morning is never a pleasant experience.
I kiss Sydney gently on the neck, and then explore the area with my tongue. (She’s the most ticklish in that spot.) Usually when I do this, Sydney turns into a wriggling, laughing mess. This morning she just rolls over slightly and looks at me.
“Not this morning, Vaughn—Kendall—whatever, I’ve got a killer headache.”
“Syd, you can call me whatever you want.”
“Vaughn?”
“Yeah?”
“Could you get me some aspirin?”
I smile at her. “Of course.”
I roll out of the bed, walk over to where I had discarded my clothes from the night before, and slip on my boxers, and head over to the bathroom. Opening up the medicine cabinet, I push aside my shaving cream and some of her make-up, finally laying my hands on a small bottle. Tapping out two pills, I walk into the kitchen and grab a glass.
(As unfortunate as it is about Nadia, I must admit that I do like being the only ones in the apartment. I remember one time when Sydney asked me to get a drink, I ran into Nadia, who wasn’t fully dressed either. Talk about awkward. I’m just glad it wasn’t Weiss, although Sydney told me she’s gotten an eyeful herself.)
That’s beside the point, though. I fill up the glass, and take it in to Sydney who’s also starting to get dressed.
“Do you want to shower first or should I?” I ask.
She looks over at me and smiles. “Who said anything about first?”
Thirty minutes later, we both emerge from the shower, soaking wet. “Do you want breakfast?”
She groans. “It’s too early.”
“Syd?”
“Yeah?”
“Is everything all right?”
“What? Why are you asking?”
“You’ve been acting a bit…strange since we got back together.”
“I’m fine, Vaughn.”
I know I have no reason to, but I don’t believe her. Something has been off in our relationship.
As I drive to APO, I glance over and see Sydney rotating the ring on her finger.
“Are you having second thoughts?”
She looks at me and then looks down. Something’s clearly wrong. This is how she acts when she’s not telling me something. She puts on a brave face, but little tics give her away.
“I’m just…” she begins, and then looks at me. “Please keep your eyes on the road.”
What she just said hurts, but I know I deserve it. “Syd?”
“I got used to not wearing this for those two months. It feels a little foreign.”
I nod and keep driving. I’m not going to force it out of her, but I learned in the DSR that people tend to be more apparent when they’re tired. Their true colors shine through more readily.
The rest of the ride is plagued by an unnatural silence, so the stark contrast of a beaming Marshall greeting us when we walk into APO is a bit of a surprise. He hands me a cigar, then Sydney gets one, too, but she politely declines.
“What’s the occasion? Is it the meeting today?”
“Not at all. I’m going to be a dad again.”
I smile. “Congratulations, Marshall.”
I glance over at Sydney. She smiles, but it’s clearly just a smile of politeness. “Congratulations,” she says, and then starts to walk away.
I follow her. “Syd, what’s wrong?”
She shakes her head, and a tear starts rolling down her cheek. I brush it away with my hand, and then lift her face to mine. “What is it?”
“Carrie…” she starts, and then begins crying again.
“What is it?”
“Carrie’s not the only one…”
“She’s not the only one that’s pregnant? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
Sydney nods, clearly plagued by something she's not telling me.
"What aren't you telling me."
"I feel so guilty."
"What did you do?"
"When I found out..."
"What?"
"I considered...ending..."
I realize what she's saying. "Did you do it?"
Sydney looks at me apologetically. "I was at the clinic, but I couldn't go through with it."
...TBC...
Chapter 11 (Varied POVs)
Sydney’s POV
I look at his face, the shock quite evident. “Vaughn, I…”
“You’re still pregnant, right?”
I nod nervously. “I couldn’t go through with it.”
Even through the tears that are forming in his eyes, he smiles. “I’m going to be a daddy.”
“You’re going to be a daddy,” I say, a smile forming on my face.
His smile fades. “What is it?”
“You didn’t talk to me for two months after the accident.”
“So?”
“So…you were pregnant when the the car hit?”
“I didn’t know about it, but, yeah.”
“Oh, geez,” I hear him mumble quietly. “Is he…she…it all right?”
“The doctors are saying that…it’s fine.”
“You don’t know the…”
“Gender? No, I don’t.” He nods slowly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“That would have required speaking to you. I didn’t want to go through that.”
“Not then. I understand that. Why didn’t you tell me when we got back together.”
I sigh. “It was too perfect. I didn’t want to…blemish that.”
“Blemish? Syd, this is a blessing.”
I sigh and nod slowly.
“Does Jack know?”
Jack’s POV
She told him. I told her she had to, but still, it’s always a shock to hear the woman you love tell you she’s pregnant.
~ ~ ~
“Jack, Sweetheart, could you come in here please?”
My feet were up, and I was comfortable. Arvin and I had just infiltrated the lab in Lima where the terrorists-of-the-month were cooking up some VX poison gas. The fight was short lived. The goons that tried to stop us had been trained in basic fighting techniques; techniques that we had learned to block and use to our advantage on The Farm.
Getting the containers was a bit more difficult. We were forced to break into a safe using just a telephone. (That is also taught early on at The Farm, but still, it was an unneeded detainment.)
I sigh and get up, walking over to where Laura was standing with a smile on her face. “Jack, I got some great news today.”
“Really?” I ask, perking up, like only Laura can make me do.
“Jack, I’m pregnant.”
~ ~ ~
Although I had been apprehensive when Laura…excuse me, Irina told me she was pregnant, every time I look over at Sydney, my daughter, the one thing in my life that matters most, even more than my life matters, I’m filled with a sense of pride. The idea that such an incredible woman exists, and that that woman just happens to be my daughter, fills me with an odd optimism for the future.
And now, I’m going to be a grandpa.
Weiss’s POV
Sydney clearly told Vaughn something major judging from the look on their faces, and then when I look over at Jack, he seems lost in thought. What the h*** is going on? I ask myself. I see Sydney smile at Vaughn, and lean in for a kiss before going their separate ways.
“Syd?” I call out, and watch as she walks towards me.
“Yeah, Weiss? What is it?”
“I just wanted to remind you that…” I try to continue, but I can’t.
“About Nadia, right?” she asks, and I nod emphatically.
“Don’t worry. I’ll remember to ask the ambassador.”
“Speaking of that, when are they coming?”
Sydney opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off by Director Chase who has just walked in.
I look over at Ms. Chase, and see a familiar bald headed man standing behind her. She makes the general announcement that Kendall will be attending the landing of the ambassador in about a half an hour.
Vaughn’s POV
I glance down at my watch as Sydney walks back over to me. “Vaughn,” she calls out, and I stop.
“What is it?”
“Seeing your dad, it…it reminded me of a question I was going to ask you.”
“Yeah?”
“Two, actually. First, did he tell you that I was alive? He knew.”
I sigh and shake my head. “I’d left the CIA and the DSR shortly after you ‘died.’ When he found out, I didn’t have a high enough security clearance, so he was forced to withhold that information.”
She nods slowly.
“You said there were two questions?”
“When you were sick from the water from the Mueller device, he was willing to let you die, because when Sark asked me to kill Sloane, he wouldn’t authorize it.”
She brought that up, I think to myself. “Syd, he was working behind the scenes, trying to buy off an employee at that warehouse. You met Sark’s demands before he could get the cure, though.”
“Vaughn?”
She looks at me, a look of disbelief in her eyes. “Yes?”
“Tell me the truth.”
“Syd,” I begin, “After Mom left Dad, we fell apart. We were almost like strangers when we started at the DSR. I was under someone else’s command when I was there, but we tried to develop a relationship. We were just starting to…” I stop talking and swallow hard. “We were just starting to get to know each other when I was given the option to infiltrate the CIA. I took it. I think he kind of took that as a betrayal, and when he became the director at JTF, we weren’t on the greatest of terms. He was working behind the scenes, but he knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere, so he was just hoping that the typical Bristow stubbornness would come through and you’d kill Sloane even though he was required to tell you not to do it.
“He was rooting for you. You just didn’t know it.”
She looks at me. “If I would have succeeded, what would he have done? He would have been legally obligated to report me.”
“He would have written it off as covert DSR work and let you get on with your life.”
She’s clearly considering what I said when Dad comes over at looks at us.
“We need to get going,” he says, nods, and walks away.
Sydney’s POV
We arrive at the meet site a few minutes later. A quiet hum starts sounding and we all look up. A small round object is hovering above us. As it descends lower, darkness covers the ground.
The craft lands effortlessly. I stare in awe at the mechanical marvel before us. A hiss sounds in conjunction with a quick release of steam as the ramp lowers. Another shadow appears. As the inhabitant of the ship starts down the ramp, I see the legs. Moments later, I can see the waist, followed by an upper body, and then finally the head appears. I stare at the person’s face, not paying attention to how everyone is staring at me.
It’s creepy just how similar we look. She’s got my face and my body. It’s almost like she’s my twin. I stand there in shock as she finishes descending the ramp. She takes her first step onto Earth’s soil, and quickly grabs her stomach, before falling to the ground, moaning in pain.
…TBC…
Chapter 12
Parallel Sydney's POV
I never believed in life on other planets. The whole concept of aliens and UFOs and all the other stuff like that just seemed ridiculous to me. (I think that might have had to do with having Dad as my father. He was always stressing the importance of everything having an explanation; of course that's when he was home.)
When I first started working at SD-6, the whole concept that all things have a reasonable explanation went out the window. I saw things that were so crazy that, after a while, a small floating red ball full of water almost seemed normal.
While I've grown accustomed to the strange and unexplainable nature of the world I live in, Kendall's announcement that our world was in danger and that it had been agreed to contact a parallel universe in order to seek refuge was so far out of the realm of the believable-unbelievability that I was sure I was dreaming. His subsequent announcement of his true affiliation with the DSR just added to the weirdness that was my life.
~ ~ ~
"We have a spaceship from the landing at Roswell, and we plan to use this ship to travel to that planet. What I need from you all is a volunteer to take the trip. Do I have any takers?"
~ ~ ~
I had no intention of volunteering, but when Vaughn's hand went up, I knew that he'd want some company on the trip. I was right. Three days later, the ship took off from Earth, and as we sailed through the vast darkness, he chose then to tell me about his history with the DSR.
I was shocked, of course, but as that old saying goes, "Love is never having to say you're sorry."
After all that had happened up to this point, I wasn't going to let a little secret get in the way of such a promising relationship. As time wore on in the complete and utter darkness, we both realized that there was really only one way to pass the time. (If you ever get a chance, getting it on in zero-gravity is so erotic it’s not even funny.)
After about a week and a half on the ship, we were alerted that we were nearing Parallel Earth number 137. I transmitted the distress call and waited for a response which came promptly. When we finally agreed on a landing site and time, we adjusted our speed accordingly.
Three days later, there we were, landing on a parallel version of our planet. I could see my parallel self standing there, waiting for me.
Suddenly, as I stepped of the ramp of the ship, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. The easiest way to describe it is like someone had thrust a knife into my abdomen and began pulling on something inside me. I passed out before I knew what had happened.
I don’t know how long it was until I woke up in the hospital bed, an IV in my arm, and an ethnic doctor looking over me.
“How are you feeling, ma’am?”
“My stomach hurts,” I mumble, looking up at him.
“I’ve gone over your vitals six times already. There’s nothing abnormal about them.”
“What’d you compare them to?”
“To the Sydney of this universe. Sydney 1 if you wish.”
I pull up my hospital gown so that I can examine my stomach quickly. My eyes quickly land on an odd scar. I know I didn’t have this scar when I left.
“What’s this?”
“That’s where your eggs were extracted.”
“When…Why were my eggs extracted.”
“I don’t know. When I got your…pardon me…Sydney 1’s file, she had reported that her eggs had been extracted.”
“Can I talk to her?”
“Of course,” he says, and leaves. Moments later, I…she walks through the door.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Why were my eggs extracted?”
“You don’t know?”
“No,” I state clearly. “Should I know?”
“It happened during the two years.”
“What two years?”
“After the fight with Allison…”
“Who’s Allison? Is that Vaughn’s ex-girlfriend’s real name?”
“No, her name is Alice.”
“Then who’s Allison?”
“She’s Francie’s double.”
“Double? You mean with Markovich’s machine?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s Francie? She’s the second double?”
“Yeah. What year are you from?”
“We left in 2003. What year is it now?”
“It’s 2007.”
The words sink in.
“You guys are from four years in the future?”
“I guess from your point of view, yeah. From my point of view, however, you’re from four years in the past.”
“What’s going on with Vaughn and you? Are you married?”
“No, we’re just engaged.”
“It’s been four years, and you’re just engaged?” I ask incredulously.
“He was married to Lauren for…”
“He got married to someone?”
“During my missing two years.”
“What do you mean ‘missing two years’?” I ask, but I’m not sure I want to know.
“After my fight with Allison, Francie’s double, I passed out. When I woke up, I was in Hong Kong with a strange scar on my stomach.”
“Where the eggs were extracted.”
“Right. Vaughn came to the safe house where I was staying. He had a ring on his finger. I asked him about it, and he told me that I had been missing…” she starts to tear up. “He told me that I had been missing for two years, and in that time, he’d gotten married.”
“To who?”
“Lauren Reed. She was the daughter of Senator Reed and Olivia Reed.”
“Was?”
“Vaughn killed her.”
“Why?”
“She was evil.”
“Vaughn married an evil woman?”
“She was a double agent for a terrorist organization who had been ordered to seduce and marry him.”
“Will the Vaughn on the ship marry her?”
“Wait, is Vaughn’s parallel version here too?”
“Yeah, he’s here.”
“Why didn’t he come out?”
Before I can answer, the doctor comes in again. “Just ignore me. I need to check on the baby.”
“Baby? I’m not pregnant!”
“Well, you are now.”
I look over at my parallel self. “Are you?”
She nods slowly.
“Oh, s***,” I say quietly. This isn’t good.
“What is it?”
“Sydney,” I start, “I need you to do me a favor.”
…TBC…
Chapter 13
Parallel Vaughn’s POV
I watched in utter horror as Sydney, the girl of my dreams, collapsed and withered on the ground outside of the ship. Dad had warned me that we were dealing with the great unknown contacting a parallel planet, and that he couldn’t give me an adequate idea of what to expect upon arrival.
Of course I dismissed these theories. They were obviously desperate attempts to scare me into staying. Little did I know that he was right. We are dealing with the unknown.
I yearn to leave the ship. I long to run to Sydney’s side and comfort her; however, I know that the odds are great that if I leave this ship, I’ll suffer the same consequences as her.
We’ve only been a couple for about three weeks now, but considering just how far our relationship has come in the year and a half since we met, I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I had considered proposing on this trip, but even I knew that it was too soon. (That didn’t stop me from buying the ring, however.)
I listen for the sound of the traffic, a mainstay in all of Los Angeles, but only silence greets my ears.
I know I shouldn’t, but I poke my head out into the air. I feel fine. I take a step forward. I still feel fine. Two more steps. Nothing. I look down. My feet are at the edge of the ramp. I look up.
The h*** with it, I say to myself.
I take my first step onto this Earth’s soil. A stabbing pain hits me in my lower abdomen and my back, and I can feel several other sore spots on me. Grabbing firmly on both sides of my dress up shirt, I rip it open and stare down at the scar that has just formed on my stomach. I taste a disgusting creamy semi-solid liquid on my tongue.
It makes me gag. I put my hand up to my mouth as I cough violently. My head is throbbing. The last things I see before I lose consciousness is blood on my hand, and the rocky pavement coming closer.
Vaughn 1’s POV
Sitting in the waiting room is never pleasant. There’s an old lady reading the most recent Time Magazine.
I feel a liquid run from my forehead, to my nose, and as it passes by my eye, I can detect a red coloration to it. I put my hand to my head, and when I pull my hand away, it’s covered in blood. I feel lightheaded, and as my body lurches forward, I manage to mumble, “Get help! Please.” I can only hope she heard me.
…TBC…
Chapter 14
Kendall’s POV
I’ve been sitting outside of this room for over three hours now. I don’t like to wait, but since I’m not family, they’ve been keeping me out of the room with the ambassador the whole time she’s been here.
Sydney went in just a few minutes ago.
The door opens and I look up. She’s standing in the doorway; her hand bandaged slightly.
“What happened?” I ask.
“We’ve got a problem.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know how to explain it, but she…” Sydney says, gesturing with her head toward the room, “she’s getting my injuries. She’s from about four and a half years in the past, but yet, her eggs have been extracted and she’s pregnant, neither of which has happened to me until now.”
The words start to sink in. “Is that why you…” I trail off and nod toward her hand.
“We had to test our theory to make sure it was accurate.”
Suddenly, another realization hits me. “You said she was pregnant? You’re indicating she got that from you, right?”
“Yeah,” she says, and my eyes go wide. “You’re going to be a grandpa.”
“Male? Female? Hermaphrodite?” I don’t know why I said that last part, but it causes Sydney to smirk ever so slightly, and I look at her expectantly.
“I…I don’t know.”
“It is Vaughn’s right?”
She nods somberly, and looks at me. An unnatural silence hangs in the air. We’ve said all we really need to say, but yet it feels like there’s still stuff left to be said.
“I’m going to go call Jessica. I dislike her, but she deserves to know.”
Sydney smiles again, and I turn and walk away.
As I’m walking down the hall, several doctors rush by me, and in the short amount of time that my eyes rested on the patient, I recognized him immediately. “Michael,” I mutter quietly.
I want to follow them; I want to know what’s wrong with them, but Sydney’s remarks about how parallel versions seem to share ailments echoes in my mind, and the next thing I know, I find myself running down the steps to my car.
I arrive at the landing site a few minutes later. I can clearly make out a body lying on the ground, a small puddle of blood forming around his head. Running over, I turn the limp body over.
He has a pulse, and his breaths are ragged, but steady. I work hard to maneuver Vaughn to a position that will allow me to move him better.
When I finally get him into my car, I spray gravel as I speed out of the parking lot.
On my way back to the hospital, I hear an announcement on the radio that the “accident” from this morning has been cleaned up, and that travel can be resumed.
I know that I should quickly flip a U-turn and head back to the ship to conceal evidence of it, but I continue on the path to the hospital. I need to save him.
The doctors take over when I finally arrive at the hospital, and once again I can relax. I remember that I’m supposed to call Jessica, but as I head for a payphone, I see the spaceship on the TV.
I can’t hear the newswoman, but I already know it’s too late. We’ve been exposed.
One word comes to mind as this realization sinks in. “S***!”
…TBC…
Chapter 15
Weiss’s POV
I’ve been waiting in the hospital for several hours now. I want to go home and get some rest (I really don’t enjoy getting up at 2:00 am), but I wait in the lobby for any news to be announced. The TV is on, but muted, and I’m not paying much attention to it; I’m much more intrigued by this story I’m reading in Reader’s Digest. I hear my name spoken and I look up to see Sydney standing before me, her hand bandaged.
“What happened?”
“There may be a way to cure Nad…”
I look up at her to see why she stopped talking, and that’s when I see the spaceship on the TV.
“Not good,” she mutters quietly. She shakes her head slowly. “What do we do?”
I shrug, and then sigh nervously. “There’s really nothing we can do.”
“We’ve been exposed,” suddenly I hear Kendall say, and I look over at him. “We’re going to let the media put whatever sort of spin they want to on this. I talked to…” he trails off as he looks at Sydney. “I talked to the other you,” he says, emanating a weird feeling of uncertainty, a trait I have never seen in Kendall before. “She told me that the ship is from Area 51. I contacted a co-worker who has been working on controlling the spaceship we have there by computers. She said that she could probably hack into this spaceship and fly it over to Area 51. It’s a risky procedure, but I gave her the go ahead.”
Minutes later, the reporter was gesturing emphatically as the ramp on the ship closed, and it slowly rose into the air, and then streaked through the sky with an unbelievable speed.
“That’s that,” Kendall said, and walked away.
I look over at Sydney, who’s slowly shaking her head.
“What is it?” I ask, concerned.
She shakes her head again. “I love Vaughn. I love him more than anything. I’m just a little apprehensive about having Kendall be my father-in-law.”
“I understand.” I glance over at her, and speak again. “Not to change the topic, but didn’t you say something about possibly being able to save Nadia?”
She nods, and smiles. (Considering all Sydney has been through in the past four years, it’s nice to see her smile on occasion.)
“It’s just a theory right now, but…” she trails off, and then asks if she’s explained how Sydney (the other Sydney, that is) got her injuries. I tell her that she hasn’t and she proceeds to explain what happened to Other Sydney (Syd2 if you will).
When she finishes, I look up at her completely confused. “How does that help us?”
“I’ve been thinking about it. Perhaps my parallel version got my injuries because I have a stronger…” she pauses, searching for the right word, “life-wave…” she says, and pauses again. “Perhaps I have a stronger life-wave than she does because I’m a native of this specific universe. Perhaps if I were to go to their planet, they’d have a stronger life-wave. If that’s the case, if they take Nadia back with them when they head back for their planet, perhaps she’ll get cured. Perhaps Nadia’s parallel version will be able to cure this universe’s Nadia. It’s a long shot, but who knows? It may work.”
I start to feel a sense of hope, but it soon fades. “What if it doesn’t work? What if we just contaminate Parallel Nadia? Then we’d have two Nadias, neither able to cure the other.”
“The way I see it is that if we try and it works, we get Nadia back. If we try and fail, we won’t have gained anything, but we won’t have lost anything. If this Nadia stays contaminated, and the other Nadia doesn’t get contaminated, then she’ll be contaminated upon arrival on this planet. If that Nadia gets contaminated, and they leave her there on that planet, Parallel Nadia will die, but this Nadia won’t. It’s going to be risky no matter what, so why not hope for the best?”
I think about what she just said.
“I wanted to ask your opinion before authorizing it. What do you think? Do you want to try it?”
I look at Sydney and smile. I reach up to my neck and grab a hold of the necklace I’m wearing. Taking it off, I hand it to her.
She slowly turns the ring at the end of the chain in her hand.
“It’s my grandma’s,” I explain quietly. Vaughn told me that he was planning on proposing, and I told him about how I had been considering it myself. He told me that, if you would both agree to it, we could have a double wedding. I was going to pop the question when you all got back from Savogda, but…” I trail off. “Do anything you can to save her.”
She smiles and nods. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She hands me the ring and walks away.
For the first time since I found out about what had happened to Nadia, I genuinely smile.
…TBC…
Chapter 16
Sydney2’s POV
Pain is a funny thing. When I landed on this planet, I keeled over from the stabbing pain in my abdomen, and now I feel fine. (The drugs they gave me probably helped a little, though.) The doctors warns me to take it easy as I gather everything together.
The three hours that I've been in her went by quickly. Part of that was probably my conversation with...myself...I guess that’s the only way to phrase it quickly. She graciously agreed to let me stay at her place.
I’m actually quite excited to see her new apartment. She didn’t go into much detail about why she moved, but I have a feeling it has something to do with those two years she’s so quiet about.
The CNA’s transfer me to a wheel chair and wheel me down to the lobby, where everyone turns and stares at me. I wave slightly. “Are you ready to go?” I…she…parallel me asks.
I nod slowly. “Yeah.”
Parallel Sydney (or perhaps Original Sydney) helps me out of the chair, and as I gain my footing, I follow her as she walks out to her car.
The drive home is amazing, but not in a good way. Countless people are lining the street holding up hastily made signs, some reading, “Go Back Home,” “We Don’t Need You Here!” “You Are NOT Welcome Here!!” “Leave NOW,” and, the most simple and to the point, “DIE!”
In stark contrast, other people were holding up such signs as, “Welcome,” “Make Yourselves At Home,” “I Hope You Have A Cure for Cancer,” and “Abduct ME!” The third group of signs really weren’t able to be classified. “Do You Want Your Anal Probe Back?” “Please Bring Back Elvis,” and “Mulder was right: We Are NOT Alone!”
I shake my head in disgust. “What is it?” I…Sydney 1 asks.
“They don’t even know what they’re dealing with and they’ve already taken sides.” I see another sign that says, “DIE!” and I instruct Sydney 1 to stop the car.
“What are you going to do?” concern quite evident in her voice.
“Just stop the d*** car.”
“Syd…”
“Stop the car.” I feel the car slow, and I open the door and head back towards that man. He’s shouting profanities and spewing felgercarb about how this is the end of civilization.
“Send those scum suckers back to where they came from!” I can feel some stomach acid rise to my mouth, giving me that disgusting just-vommitted taste.
“Am I to take it that you don’t want them here?” I ask bluntly. He gives me a once-over and nods in approval.
“Well, if they looked like you, I’d have to re-evaluate my position.”
“Well, start re-evaluating, you a**hole.”
His eyes narrow. “You’re one of them?”
“I guess you’re not as slow as you seem.”
He stares at me for a bit, and then turns his head and says loudly, “She’s one of them!”
Slowly the other men begin to surround me.
“I think a nice welcoming is in order,” one of the thugs says, and then throws a punch.
(I’m starting to see now how in all those sci-fi movies I used to see with Charlie why humans were always under the control of robots. If the first contact with an alternate life form is to start a fight, and with a basic punch that I learned early on how to deflect, then obviously the human race is doomed to a future of violence, destruction, and death.)
I use a simple evasive maneuver that I was taught at SD-6 to block his attack and to pin his arm in a very uncomfortable position behind his back. I’m usually not very violent; I don’t believe in using more force than is necessary, but after all I’ve been through, something in me clicks, and I force the arm back until I hear a sickening, yet satisfying “Pop.”
The man falls to the ground moaning in pain, and I look around at all the other men waiting for a shot at me and think quietly to myself, “This is going to be fun.”
They begin closing in.
A gunshot rings out.
My eyes go wide as the man in front of me drops to the ground.
…TBC…
Chapter 17
Irina’s POV
It’s been a long, long year. I remember talking with him online.
~ ~ ~
“IRINA. HAVE INTEL ON COVENANT ENDGAME. NEED TO DISCUSS.” My eyes danced quickly over the entry on my screen, and I typed out a simple response.
“What do you need?”
“I NEED INFORMATION ABOUT THE PASSENGER,” he had typed back. (One disadvantage of posing as an English teacher for as long as I did is that the fact that he omitted a period irks me.)
I had managed to get “How did you fi…” typed when I heard movement behind me. I had turned just in time to see Elena jab a needle into my neck.
When I woke up next, I was in that d*** hole in the ground.
~ ~ ~
I hear a siren in the background and quickly head over to my bag. I didn’t have much in the way of clothes when I left Savogda, but since so many people had died there, finding an ample supply of cash, clothing, and certain weapons was relatively simple.
While I know that it’s not proper etiquette to steal from dead people, I rationalize it by reminding myself that this stuff is not going to get used anyway.
The siren is getting closer, and I cautiously peer through the window curtains. The cop car stops in front of the Wal-Mart across the street. Quickly opening my bag, I pull out the binoculars.
As I survey the front of the store, it’s clear that there’s a mass panic. People are looting, and I see the cop run out and un-holster his gun.
The man with the grocery cart stops running and puts his hands behind his head. Suddenly I see another man sneak up behind the cop with a wooden board and swings it at the officers head. My eyes widen as the cop crumples to the ground at the impact.
I quickly turn on the TV, where I see a reporter standing in the middle of utter chaos. I’m listening as hard as I can to figure out what’s going on.
Only one thought comes to mind as the report continues. I need to contact Jack.
…TBC…
Chapter 18
Vaughn 1’s POV
“Take it easy,” the nurse warns me.
“Trust me,” I say looking her in the eye, “I’ve been through worse.”
“Perhaps, but still, with the aliens and everything, who knows what’s going to happen next.”
“Aliens?” I ask, more concerned about the security of our mission than getting the facts.
“It’s on the news. Some people discovered a spaceship, but there was no one in it. Clearly they’re on the loose.”
“How do we even know the ship was even inhabited?”
“Well, if it wasn’t inhabited, then how did it get here?”
I consider this question for a while. I can’t let her know that I know more than I’m letting on. “Auto-pilot?”
“I highly doubt it.”
“Well, whatever, it doesn’t matter. No one’s died yet, have they?”
“No one’s died because of the aliens.”
I look back at her. “What do you mean?”
“People are going postal. We’ve already had 16 gunshot wounds, 59 stabbings, 47 car crashes, and out of those, twelve people have died. It’s a madhouse out there.”
I shake my head in disbelief. I hear a familiar voice from the hallway. Sydney’s back.
Sydney 2’s POV
“What happened,” a nurse asks me as I carry the limp body into the emergency room.
“We had a small misunderstanding. He was about to hit me, when I heard a gunshot, and he fell to the ground,” I tell her truthfully.
“Who shot him?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. It came out of nowhere.”
“We’ve been seeing a lot of this, today.”
“Is he going to be alright?” I ask her. I really don’t care, but no one deserves to die like this.
“I’m not a doctor,” she starts, and I figure the news is going to be bad; “It doesn’t appear that the bullet has pierced anything vital.”
“So it’s possible he’ll be fine?”
“Yeah,” she says and I let out a happy sigh.
They transfer him to a gurney, and I walk along as they wheel him down the hallway. They keep asking me questions, and I answer to the best of my knowledge.
We’re getting close to the OR when I hear a familiar voice behind me. “Syd?”
I turn and see Vaughn standing in the doorway. “Hey,” I mumble breathlessly.
“You alright?” he asks and I smile.
“I’m fine.”
“Come here,” he says. I walk towards him, and we join in a long kiss.
“Vaughn!” I hear someone yell out. I turn and see myself (Sydney 1) standing a few feet away. As soon as she sees my face, she relaxes.
“Wait,” Vaughn says, backing away. Looking at me, he demands, “Which Sydney are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you the native to this planet?”
“No.” His eyes go wide.
“Oh, s***,” he mumbles quietly. “Sorry baby,” he says this time directing it at the other me.
“Well,” she says with a sly grin, “If you’re going to cheat, I’d rather it be with me.”
We all laugh.
“Wait a moment, though,” I say suddenly. “Where’s my Vaughn?”
Yet another voice joins the group. “Look behind you,” Vaughn (the other one) says.
I turn around with a smile and a kiss for him.
“Let’s get out of here,” Sydney (not me) says.
Jack’s POV
“You got everything?” I ask Irina as she tosses her bag in my car and gets in the front seat.
“Yes.”
“Good,” I say, grinning like only Irina can make me do. “Let’s get out of here.”
…TBC…
