Star Trek meets Quantum Leap

-------------------------------------------------------------------
- This story came from the alt.startrek.creative archive on       -
- ftp.cis.ksu.edu  (129.130.10.80)                                -
-                                                                 -
- If you have any submissions for the archive, please either      -
- upload them to the /pub/upload directory on ftp.cis.ksu.edu     -
- or mail them to jfy@cis.ksu.edu   INTERNET (preferred)          -
-                 rutgers!depot!jfy UUCP                          -
-                 CBM2064@KSUVM     BITNET                        -
-                 72427,1641        COMPUSERVE                    -
-------------------------------------------------------------------
  Exploding: crossover/QL/ST-ALeapOfFaith.txt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Star Trek: "A Leap of Faith"
by: Jason Breti
(c) Copyright 1992, Jason Breti jason@cs.uregina.ca  or  regina!mercury!jason
Reproduction and copying granted as long as text is not altered and copyrights
remain part of the text.
Quantum Leap and Quantum Leap Characters are copyright Bellisarius Productions.
Star Trek and Star Trek Characters are copyright Paramount Pictures Corporation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would like to thank Dean Holroyd, John Rosloot, Katriena Knights,
Christopher Wheeler and especially Sarah Menolly for their assistance and
comments.  They were a very valuable source of reference and a sounding
board for new ideas.  Their editing saved me in several places.  Thank you!
Any arrors are, of course, mine alone.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam
Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap Accelerator... and vanished!
He awoke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that
were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for
the better.
His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who
appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear.
And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to
put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next
leap... will be the leap home!
Captain's Log:
Using the light-speed breakaway factor, the Enterprise has moved back
through time to the twentieth-century.  We are now in extended orbit
around Earth, using our ships deflector shields to remain unobserved.
Our mission: Historical Research.  We are monitoring Earth communications
to find out how our planet survived  desperate problems in the year 1968.
During our monitoring of Earth, we intercepted the high energy transport
of Gary Seven from thousands of light years away, sent by a race of
beings that will remain hidden even in our own time.  Seven, a human
specially trained by these beings, and possessing superior mental and
physical capabilities, has a mission to correct time anomalies as they
occur in Earth's history.
The accidental explosion of a nuclear platform high in the Earth's
atmosphere was triggered by Mr. Seven, raising enough global concern to
ban nuclear platforms completely.
With his mission complete we are completing our monitor reports and
preparing to leave Earth and return to our own time...
Prologue - 1968
---------------
"What else do your record tapes show?"
"I'm afraid we can't reveal everything we know, Mr. Seven," Kirk grinned.
"Captain, we could say that Mr. Seven and Miss Lincoln have some. . .
interesting experiences in store for them,"  quipped Spock.
"Ah, yes.  I think we could say that."
Seven looked at Kirk curiously.  Roberta Lincoln didn't know what to
think.
Kirk flashed a Cheshire cat smile and flipped open his communicator.
"Two to beam up Scotty."
"Live long and Prosper, Mr. Seven."
"And the same to you, Miss Lincoln," added Kirk.  "Energize."
Roberta still hadn't gotten used to the idea of people sparkling out of
existence.  Still, you had to believe in it when Kirk and Spock vanished
in front of you.  Seven gazed at her with great amusement in his eyes.
Kirk and Spock stepped off the transporter pad.
"Well, Spock,  I guess you could say mission accomplished, eh?"
"Mission accomplished, Captain?  I would hardly..."
Suddenly, Kirk felt dizzy.  He looked down at his hands and saw that they
were covered in a blue aura.  In fact, his entire body was surrounded by
it.  Waves of it coursing over his skin, surging through his body, like
veins of energy.  And then...a faint tinkling sound, growing stronger.
The tinkles merged with a low bassy throb.  He gazed in desperation at
Spock, unable to speak.  The noise built to a climax as Kirk felt the hum
tear his body apart.  His mind exploded into a million points of light
screaming out in all directions.
All Sam heard was the after effects of the Leap.  The familiar faint
tinkles fading off into nothing, as if they were never there.  He was
used to it.  You could overcome the nausea relatively quickly, if you
knew it was coming.
"...call this a 'mission'.  After all, we never did know what the logical
course of action was, until Mr. Seven detonated the nuclear platform."
Spock stopped, a very Vulcan flicker of concern showing in his eyes.
"Captain, are you all right?"
Sam still hadn't looked up.  "Yes... I'm just a little dizzy.  I'll be
all right in a second or two."
"Do you need medical assistance, Captain?"
"No.  I'll be all right."  Sam took a deep breath and the dizziness
faded.  It was gone, until the next Leap, at least.  He sighed, and
looked up at Spock.
Standing in front of him,  staring straight at him, was the strangest
person Sam had ever seen.  What a strange greenish complexion.
Interesting eyebrows (did they ever stop?).  And those ears!  It took all
the reserve he had to keep from crying out.
Sam decided he'd better say something.  "Oh...boy."
Chapter 1 - 1970
----------------
"Ha ha ha ha!"  A voice under the covers giggled in contented happiness.
"Silly...I'm ticklish there.  Oh!"  The two figures were twisting
sensuously in the delighted movements of newlyweds.
The bed had black satin sheets, covered by a black and red comforter that
would soon be kicked off in the haste of the moment.  A bottle of opened
champagne rested at the side of the bed.  The bedroom was luxuriously set
with a black fuzzy carpet, and black sheer drapes.  A huge patio-door
window looked out onto a crystal clear lake in the mountains.  The water
in the hot tub outside was steaming, the steam resting contentedly on top
of the water.
The cabin was completely secluded in the trees, and the only sound
outside was a multitude of birds merrily chirping and scrounging about.
All in all, a completely idyllic place for two.
"Gasp!  Your feet are cold!  Don't stick them there!"  A man burst forth
his head from the covers and looked down at his wife in fake shock.
"You've got to get warmed up.  I think a drowning in the water is
necessary."  As he looked down at her she wrapped her arms around Gary's
neck in a clearly possessive manner.
"Oh, Gary...the lake's too cold this time of year!  Besides, I can't swim
in anything bigger than a bath tub."
"Now, now, Roberta darling,"  Gary enunciated the words in his professor-
student tone.  "You've got to learn sometime!"  He smiled devilishly and
picked her up as she screamed in delight.
Effortlessly, Gary Seven carried his wife through the half-open patio
doors.  The breeze stirred the steam off the hot tub and made it whirl.
The tub almost seemed to anticipate its new residents.
"Well, let's try out that swimming theory, shall we?"  Gary gave her one
last long kiss, and threw her into the tub.
She squealed as the water surged over the tub.  Roberta burst from the
hot water and gasped.
"How could you!" she scolded her husband, the edges of her mouth creeping
up in a smile, just a little.  "Come join me, and I'll drown you in
something other than water!"
Gary barely got in the water before she was upon him.  He gasped in
between the kisses she was generously applying.
Beep.  Beep.
"Mmmm." Gary groaned in pleasure.
Beep.  Beep.  It came from the bedroom.
"MMMMMMmmm." Roberta tried to ignore the irritating sound.
Beep.  BEEP.  It was louder now, sounding almost irritated  for having to
wait for other matters.
"Mmm.  Leave it alone Gary,"  Roberta pleaded as Gary pulled himself from
the water.
"Now Darling, you know I have to get this."  He said as he moved towards
the bedroom.
BEEP. BEEP.  The sound was coming from a small box on the bedside table.
Gary picked up the phone.  "Yes."
A series of beeps and clicks gurgled in the background for a couple of
seconds.  Then a female voice spoke, strangely devoid of any expression.
"Identify by code and voice recognition."
"Supervisor 194, codenamed Gary Seven," he sighed.  Beta Five computers
tended to be over careful at times.  Voice recognition was usually
enough.  The beeps and clicks when he picked up the phone identified
voice encryption that was probably not necessary.
"Voice recognition confirmed.  I have an override level twelve report for
Supervisor 194."
Gary suddenly focussed on the voice.  "Report."
"Dr. Aaron Lewisson has died by drowning,"  the machine responded in the
same toneless voice.
"Uh...Roberta"  He called out to the hot tub.  "Please get out of the
water."  He directed his voice back to the phone.  "Continue."
"Dr. Lewisson should not die for another twenty-six years."  The computer
finished its report.
"Gary?  What's wrong?"  Roberta was dripping in the doorway with a towel
covering her.
Concern showed on Gary's face as he waved at her.  "Was the drowning
accidental, or deliberate?"
"Accidental."
"Damn!"  He muttered.  Another accident, as if one wasn't enough, why
does there need to be more?  "All right, Beta Five, I'll be back in the
city today."  He laid the phone down and grinned sheepishly at Roberta.
"Well, I guess the honeymoon is over, darling."
Roberta was not amused.
Chapter 2 - 1968
----------------
Sam stared at the Vulcan in front of him.  Did this man call me
"Captain"?  Yes, he did.  His tunic certainly doesn't match anything I've
ever seen.  Maybe Al would know.  Ha!  Al wouldn't be caught dead in
those black pants and boots.  Well, you never know...
"I...uh...I'm fine now.  Just fine, thanks."  This may or may not have
alleviated concern in that strangely unemotional face.  It was hard to
tell.
"Are you going to your quarters, Captain?  I must stop at my quarters
before reporting to the bridge."
"Er...yes.  After you."  Sam decided that he needed information.  Much
more information.
Sam followed the tall pointed fellow through a set of double doors that
who-o-o-shed open as they approached.  Now where have I seen that before?
He struggled to remember, but the swiss-cheese effect did a great job of
chopping memories up, especially when you needed them most.
The doors who-o-o-shed shut behind them.  I'm certainly in a strange
building.  He glanced at some of the doors as they walked by.
Transporter Room 3, Meeting Room 12, Science Research 5, Biology 6, Turbo
12.  Definitely some kind of research facility.  Transporter Room?
Transport what?  Shipping Potatoes?
Sam remembered a piece of the discussion his counterpart, this captain,
whomever he had leaped into, was having with the tall gentleman in front
of him.  "So, what was your analysis of the...mission?"
"Mr. Seven was not the invading alien we assumed him to be.  It appears
that he has Earth's best interests at mind, so it is logical that he
should remain in the past."
The report was delivered smoothly by this faintly satanic character.  The
ears...that was it.  It was hard not to stare, but Sam tried to respond
nonchalantly as they entered some type of circular elevator.  "All
right,"  This was very one-sided conversation.  "Do you have any
recommendations?"
"I just made them, Captain."  The other man looked at him with a twist of
his head.  He gripped a control of some sort on the wall. "Officer's
quarters."
Sam grabbed a control beside him as the elevator began
moving...horizontally!  What kind of elevator moves sideways?  All right
Al...you've had enough time...where are you?
They got off on another floor, and walked down the hall.  There were
names on most of the doors, so Sam guessed that there were a fair number
of officers, in whatever place he was.
"I would like to perform a complete study of Gary Seven's efforts by
cross referencing him in the historical data banks.  It is now safe to
assume that he wishes to assist humankind, but we should analyze any
other changes he makes.  Admittedly, Captain, it will be difficult to
analyze the effectiveness of any changes he makes, but as you know any
small changes can affect the Earth, and possibly the history of the
Federation.  I would also like to analyze a few other historical events
currently taking place in other parts..."
Jeez, this guy's hard to listen to.  Ziggy's got more personality than
him!  He's not making any sense!  Historical events currently taking
place?  Federation?  Federation of what?  Al...?
They stopped outside a door that read KIRK, CAPTAIN J.T.  Well, Captain
Kirk, how nice for you to have a name, Sam thought.  His companion was
standing there, hands clasped behind his back, staring at him.
"Captain, are you sure you are all right?"
Sam cleared his voice.  "Ahem.  Yes, I'm fine.  Uh...Carry on.  I'll see
you later."  Sam wasn't surprised to find that the doors opened as he
walked towards them.
The doors closed on an increasingly arched eyebrow.
Chapter 3 - 1983
----------------
The doors who-o-oshed open automatically as the two doctors entered the
center.
"I don't think I've ever told you, over these years, how much of a boost
you gave us, Dr. Seven!"
"Well, I just helped a little here and there, Sir.  It's nothing compared
to what miracles you've performed."  Gary Seven smiled at his companion
as they walked down the clinic corridor.
"Well, frankly I'm glad that you picked up where Dr. Lewisson left off!
Your final product...what do you call it...?"
"Artificially Intelligent Genetic Editor, Sir.  AIGE."  Seven smiled at
the administrator's enthusiasm.
"Age, yes.  A fabulous tool!  It's helped us enormously speed up the
experimental process!"  The administrator stopped in front of a
nondescript door, marked "Viewing Room".  "Now, I'd like you to take a
look at this, before you leave us to go on to other projects..."
The administrator opened the door with a sweep of his hand and Seven
entered.  The door closed behind the administrator as they both sat down.
"...You've certainly had a major hand in the results!"
Seven looked through the window, which was actually a one-way mirror.  A
speaker unit mounted in the wall provided excellent clarity from the two
people on the other side of the mirror.  Seven watched the discussion
with interest.
"One of our most successful cases!" beamed the administrator.
"So what can you tell me about Dante's Inferno, as opposed to the
conventional view of hell?"
The teenager looked at his teacher with a mixture of respect and
arrogance.  He had learned so much, but got quickly tired of innane
questioning.  He realized that such testing was necessary, along with IQ
tests, health exams, endurance tests, strength tests, oral exams...there
was no end to the tests.  But that didn't mean you had to like them!
"Dante uses the juxtaposition of the conception of hell as being a place
to burn with heat, and reverses it to a place where you burn with cold."
The words rolled off the teenager's tongue in a smooth, dangerous way.
He had an accent that was somewhat elusive. "I think that cold is more
fitting.  More...just."  He smiled.  It was always interesting to test
the teachers as well.  "What do you think of Dante?"
"Well,"  said the teacher, unused to being counter-tested, "I think you
understand more than you sometimes let on."
The teenager's smile faded.  It turned cold, emotionless.  "I understand
everything I read.  It is the only way to expand your horizons, to rise
above...even your educators."  The smile returned.
The teacher looked slightly less confident than before.  "Yes, well.
Let's try some tactical combat testing.  You seem to do well.  You've
certainly read..." the teacher stared directly at the teenager "...all
the experts.  Let's see what you can do, Khan..."
The teenager stared through the mirror, right into Seven's eyes.
Chapter 4 - 1968
----------------
"Uh, Hi Sam," Al sheepishly grinned as he stepped through the holographic
door.  "You'll never guess where you are."
"What took you so long?"  Sam hated operating on absolutely no
information.  You'd never know if you were going to do something wrong.
Somewhere, soon, was the critical moment in time that he'd been drawn to.
If he screwed up...well, he didn't know what would happen.
"Well, we has a little trouble locking on to your neurons and mesons,"
admitted Al, a little reluctantly.  He blew a cloud of cigar smoke out
into the Captain's quarters as he examined the room critically.  "You're
not quite in Ziggy's normal scanning range."
"I'm not?  So where am I?"
"Well,  sort of the same place you were before, but then again, not."
"AAAlllll!"  Sam hated playing guessing games.  "Where am I?"
Al punched a few buttons on the handlink he was holding.  It chirped and
squawked while displaying the information.  "On the Enterprise."
"Where?"
They both almost missed the chime at the door.  Al glanced at Sam, who
looked like he'd just eaten a lemon.  The chime sounded again.
"Captain?"  A woman's voice sounded through the door.
Al's eyes suddenly lit up.  He motioned to the door energetically with
both hands.  "Well, don't keep her waiting!  I never keep women waiting,
except when they've been bad..."
Sam rushed to the door, hoping to cut off Al's story before it began.
The door opened as he stopped beside it.
"Ooooo!  Sam!"  Al was clearly pleased.
"Now Captain!  You haven't been eating lately!"  A stunning blonde with a
red tunic rushed in, brushing past Sam.  She was carrying a covered plate
of food and placed it on his desk with determination.  She stood beside
the table, hands crossed, and tapping her foot impatiently.  "Please sit
down, Captain!"
"I was thinking more of something more interesting than sitting..."  Al
mused.
Sam gave him a sharp look as he crossed to the table.  The blonde watched
Sam critically until he sat.
"Uh, Sam.  This gorgeous woman is...uh"  Al was punching keys on the
handlink. "Yeoman Janice Rand."  He paused.  "Oh Sam!  She's your
PERSONAL yeoman!  Just for you!  Let me tell you I'd like to get personal
with her!"
Janice Rand pulled the cover off the food with a flourish.  The platter
contained several odd-coloured foods, but they smelled delicious.  Sam
smiled, but then frowned as he watched Al out of the corner of his eye.
Al was slowly circling behind Janice Rand, closely watching her.  He bent
down and started to look up the Yeoman's skirt.
"Wow," Al was in his adoring stage.  "They sure don't allow skirts this
short in the Navy!  I'm going to have to join up!"
Sam cleared his throaty noisily.  "That'll be all, Yeoman."
"SAAAM!"  Al straightened up, "You're taking away all my fun!"
"You're going to eat this, sir?"  The Yeoman seemed quite insistent.
"Ohhhh!"  Al purred.  "Make her feed it to you.  Please!"
"YES!"  Sam shifted uncomfortably on his seat.  "I promise!  That'll be
all.  Thank you!"
Yeoman Rand gave Sam one last stern look and walked out of Kirk's
quarters.  The doors shut behind the Yeoman but Al gave chase.
"AL!"  Sam tried to whisper and scream at the same time.
"What?  Oh!"  Al looked as if his concentration was broken.  "Sam, think
of the possibilities with her!  Your own personal Yeoman!  And blond
too!"  He took a musing puff on his cigar, then shook his head.  "But
then, your mind is so squeaky clean you just can't see all the
interesting permutations...and combinations!"
"AL!  Why am I here?"  Sam was getting impatient.  "You said I was on the
Enterprise.  Is that a ship?  What ship has rooms like this?"
"A space ship."  Al was blunt, staring straight at Sam.  "You're on a
space ship.  The United Space Ship Enterprise."
"C'mon.  Quit Kidding."
"You don't remember, do you?"
"Remember what?"  Sam was unsure of himself.  The act of leaping created
a swiss-cheese effect, causing Sam's memory to be full of holes.  The
holes were usually what you wanted to remember, too.
"You've been on a United Space Ship Enterprise before."
"I have?"
"Yes.  The Enterprise NCC-1701D, a ship from the twenty-fourth century."
"The twenty-fourth century."  Sam felt like a parrot.
"Yes.  Now you're on the Enterprise NCC-1701, built around a century
earlier."
"How do you know all this?"  Sam usually didn't question the validity of
Ziggy's facts...but this was too much to believe.  "Ziggy doesn't have
any records other than events that occurred during my, and your
lifetime."
"This is true,"  Al puffed a holographic cloud into the air.  "But our
'guest' knows the future.  His name is Captain James T. ..."
"Kirk."  Sam finished.
"...Kirk.  Yes, well.  He's quite the melodramatic presence, you know.
We've kept him in the Accelerator Chamber and the Control Room so far.
He doesn't completely believe us, but he is giving us a little
information.  Like that ravishing beauty that was just here..."
"Al!"
"Right.  Oh yes.  Um, we can't tell him about your leap into the twenty-
fourth century, since it's Kirk's future too.  Just like we can't tell
anyone on one of your 'normal' leaps about their future, we can't tell
Kirk about his future."
"But I can't leap into the twenty-fourth..."
"Twenty-third.  The other Enterprise is from the twenty-fourth century."
Al corrected.
"Twenty-third century.  I can only leap in my lifetime."
"That's right.  You're in 1968."
Sam paused.  "I think I missed something here.  How can I be on a ship
from the future if I'm in 1968?"
"Because the Enterprise is in 1968."  Al said, matter-of-factly.
"They're time travellers!"  Sam was exited.  "Can they control their
leaps!?!"
"Well, yes and no."  Al punched some buttons on the handlink.  He bashed
the side of it with his hand.  "They don't leap.  They...slingshot around
the sun.  They can control it to a certain extent.  Plus or minus a few
days."
Sam thought for a while.  It was difficult to think when you had only
half your memory in place, but you get used to it.  "They must have
reached past relativistic speeds!  You can't do that!"
"You can in the future."  Al continued.  "Anyway, we can't get much more
detail than this.  We already know too much of our future.  I hesitate to
ask Kirk questions, and he hesitates to answer them.  You know that we
shouldn't know too much about our future."
Sam shook his head, lost in thought.  "Yes, of course.  Ok.  Why am I
here?"
Al looked uncomfortable.  "Well, we don't know.  Worse than that, we
don't have much way of telling, either.  We don't have any record of the
Enterprise in 1968.  If it was here, it kept pretty secret."
"UFOs?"
"Yup Sam, we already thought of that.  There is a vague reference in 1969
to a ship matching the description of the Enterprise, but Kirk says that
they were on another trip then.  That's it."
"They were here before?"
"Yes, but the other time was an accident.  Kinda like your leaps.
Anyway,"  Al mused, "that's all we've got right now."
Sam raised his hands in a gesture of exasperation.
Chapter 5 - 1996
----------------
The general watched carefully as several men and women boarded a
spacecraft.  She counted every one of them to make sure they actually
boarded the craft.  If they decided to get cute, the soldiers beside her
would level them to the ground.  Her eyes blazed, secretly hoping that
they would resist, in any small way, but they didn't.
The spacecraft, named by General Ritter herself, was called the Botany
Bay.  She smiled with satisfaction as each prisoner carefully read the
name on the ship as they boarded.  "Yes, quite a fitting name," she
thought, "but this Botany Bay is nowhere as pleasant as Australia was to
the British prisoners of so long ago.  The government has ruled that we
must exile you, but I can't imagine anything closer to death than this.
There won't be any kangaroos where I'm sending you!"
The Botany Bay was a sleeper ship, so called because its passengers slept
in suspended animation, their bodies' metabolism slowed to almost death.
People in suspended animation did not die, but neither did they live.
She turned her attention to the last man in line.  He was cuffed in
irons, the chains connecting his legs so short that he could only shuffle
forward.  He had a warrior's countenance, though his hair was twisted
around his face like a madman.  "He looks beaten," she thought with
satisfaction, "well, the bastard creation would plague the world no
more."
The last man stopped at the entry to the spacecraft.  He read the ship's
name and turned to the general in a shuffle that, surprisingly, appeared
casual.  The soldier's shifted their guns uneasily.  This shift in
attitude did not go unnoticed by the prisoner, but he kept his attention
on the General.
"You realize General,"  the prisoner licked his lips, "you will never be
rid of me.  There is nowhere you can send me that I will not return from.
And you," he waved a finger at the soldiers, "will be the first to fall."
The General was not amused.  "Khan, if I didn't have my orders, I'd
execute you where you stood.  I'm letting you live, but it will be a long
time before you see the light of day again...and you will never see the
light of this sun.  You will NEVER walk on this soil again!"
Khan nodded, but did not appear convinced.  He turned, and entered the
Botany Bay.  After a few minutes, a group of technicians and soldiers
left the craft.
"All set, sir."  One of the techs saluted as he closed the door on the
Botany Bay.
"Good.  Set the launch and let's be done with it."  The General smiled.
A voice thundered over the speaker system.  "CLEAR FOR LAUNCH!"
Khan Noonian Singh stepped back from his position behind the group and,
out of sight, pulled off his faceshield.  "Excellent work,"  he thought,
walking away from the launch site as the Botany Bay surged into the sky
with a fiery roar.  He continued on to a group of waiting men and women,
his loyal team, waiting for him to lead them to glory.  "It's quite
astounding what miracles doctors can perform with plastic surgery today,
with just the right amount of persuasion.  They can substitute any face,
even mine!"
Chapter 6 - 1998
----------------
"Report."  Gary Seven had put his feet up after a long day, and just
wanted sleep.  The Beta Five computer, however, had other plans and
wouldn't let him rest just yet.
The Beta Five responded in a toneless female voice.  "Unplanned time
anomaly.  Predefined path diversion probability 90%.  Intervention
Required."
Gary perked up.  "What now?"
"North America.  Reference Eugenics Project.  Subject Khan Noonian Singh.
Recorded as appearing on my surveillance monitors.  Path dictates that
Khan should currently be in suspended hibernation on the Botany Bay,
Launched 1996."
"How has he been able to remain in hiding for two years?  How could you
have missed him?"
"I am a Beta Five computer. I miss no data passing through my
surveillance monitors."  The computer sounded huffy, somehow, even though
the voice did not change inflection.
Gary sighed.  No use in irritating the Beta, he thought, the same thought
he'd had many other times in the past.
"Recommended Intervention?"  Gary asked.
"Insufficient Data."
Gary chuckled resignedly and shook his head.  Just what he needed.  He'd
have to find his own solution.
Chapter 7 - 1968
----------------
After Al left, Sam immediately finished his supper, provided by Yeoman
Rand.  Remembering her last look to him, Sam quickly cleaned the plate.
The food was good, even that blue crunchy stuff.
Sam didn't really want to go out into the ship, but he was torn.  He
thought he should wait until he had more information. That way he would
at least be able to appear that he knew what he was doing.  On the other
hand, he had leaped for a purpose, and should be out there to help
whomever was in trouble.
He decided to examine Kirk's quarters, just to see what this man's tastes
were like.  He found a mirror on the wall.  The face that stared at him
was young, but determined.  He was wearing a gold tunic, the only one
he'd seen so far.  He smiled in satisfaction at his new face, and heard
the door chime.
Sam sighed and walked to the door.  It opened to an older man in a blue
tunic, carrying a black bag.
"Hi Jim.  May I come in?"
"Uh...ok, sure."  This man had called him Jim, probably a good friend of
Kirk's, Sam thought.  He did have just a touch of a southern Georgia
accent. It suited him well.
"I see that Yeoman Rand has done her usually efficient job."  The
stranger smiled as he looked at the empty food plate.  "She's the only
one I know who can motivate you to eat."
"Yes, she's quite good at that," Sam returned with a smile.
The stranger's face registered concern.  "Jim, are you all right?  Spock
asked that I come check up on you."
Who's Spock, Sam wondered as he heard the Imaging Chamber door open, and
Al appeared.  He looked at the stranger, and pushed a few buttons on the
handlink.
"Sam, this man is Leonard McCoy, Kirk calls him Bones."  Al's mouth
twitched with a slight smile.  "He's a doctor, and one of Kirk's oldest
friends.  Don't let him examine you, we don't want twenty-third century
technology detecting you just yet."
Sam remembered Bones' question.  "Yes, I'm just a little tired."
Bones smiled.  "Well, you have been working hard lately.  Can I give you
something to help you sleep."
Al piped in immediately "NO, Sam!  Say NO!"
"I don't think so," Sam responded with a smile, "a little sleep is all I
need."
Bones appeared satisfied that nothing was amiss.  "Well, all right.  Let
me know if you need anything, all right?"
"Yes, thanks Bones."
Bones nodded, and left with a wave.
"Al, who's Spock?"
Al punched the handlink.  "Spock is your second-in-command.  Kirk says
that you'd have transported with him just before the leap."
Oh, the guy with the ears, Sam thought.
Al continued.  "Speaking of Spock, Kirk wants you to tell Spock who you
REALLY are.  Kirk doesn't like you impersonating him."  Al gave a tight
smile and looked at Sam.  "Actually, I think this is a good idea.
They're from the future, so anything you tell them they could probably
find out anyway."
Sam agreed.  "How do I contact Spock?"
Al read from the handlink.  "Kirk says to push the button on the console
near you and say 'Kirk to Spock, please come to my quarters'."
Sam looked around, and found a console with several lights and buttons,
it looked like some sort of an interface console.
"Which button?"
Al waved his hands.  "I don't know, pick one.  Look for an 'ON' switch."
Indeed, there was an ON switch.  Sam pushed it.  All the lights on the
console lit up.  A voice emanated from the computer "Computer recording,
deeeear!"
Sam looked at Al, who raised his eyebrows.
"Sounds like Ziggy!" Al smirked, as he punched the handlink.  "Oh Sam,
not that console, the one on the desk with the square screen."
Sam moved to the desk, and pushed the single button.  An ooo-weee-ooop
sounded.  "Kirk to Spock, please come to my quarters."
Sam heard an "Acknowledged, Captain." in a voice he recognized as,
indeed, the man with the ears.  Sam turned the intercom off.
"So now what do we do?" Sam asked.
The computer responded.  "What would you like to do, deeear!"  Sam rolled
his eyes as he punched the OFF button.
"Just like Ziggy, but without the comebacks." Al puffed through his
cigar.
Chapter 8 - 1999
----------------
An explosion razed the dirt, causing debris to scatter wildly in all
directions.  Khan waved his hands in front of his face to ward off the
bigger shards.
He had been caught by surprise in his new headquarters, too new to
fortify.  Khan was losing this battle, and he knew it.
BUT WHY?  I've done everything correctly!  Khan was furious, barely
keeping his mind under control.  It's not possible that these lowly
humans could defeat me!  Someone must have deserted me!  They will pay
dearly when I rule once more!
Khan was frantically reading the latest communique from his support team.
They had discovered a certain place... Stallion's Gate, New Mexico... a
place called Project Quantum Leap.  Somehow a transmission had been
inadequately encoded from Beta Five, some sort of monitoring station, and
the support team had deciphered the signal!
"This is the solution I have been waiting for!"  Khan almost cried with
joy at the message.  A time gate to the past and the future!  He screamed
to his aide through the warzone. "Quickly Joachim!  Regroup!"
Chapter 9 - 1968
----------------
"SAM! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"
Sam smiled as he admitted Spock to Kirk's quarters.  He knew Al would
react, but wasn't quite sure how.
Al was backing away into a corner, looking like a caged animal, as Spock
entered the room, oblivious to Al's invisible scream.
"You wanted to see me, Captain?"
"Sam!  He looks like--just like--you know!"  Al was pointing down to the
floor excitedly.
"Yes, Spock.  It's time you found out about a few things.  First of all,
I'm not Captain Kirk."
Spock stared levelly at Sam.  "You're not."
"No."
"Then who are you?"
"I'm Dr. Sam Beckett.  I'm a time traveller from 1999."
Spock paused.  "Did Dr. McCoy come and visit you?"
Sam chuckled.  "Yes he did."
Al stopped shaking, and piped in "Sam, just tell him--"  Al was waving
towards Spock  "--him, whatever he is--the story."
"Ok, Spock.  My name is Dr. Sam Beckett, and I designed Project Quantum
Leap, a radium-ring accelerator that allows me to leap in my own
lifetime, exchanging places with other people.  I leaped from 1999 to
1968, and into your Captain Kirk."
Spock stared, not saying anything.
Al's handlink was beeping.  He looked at it.  "Kirk says that this won't
work.  He says you should tell Spock to do a..."  Al was sure he was
misreading the handlink, so he bashed it again.  No, It still said the
same thing.  "...Spock should perform a 'mindmeld'."
Sam hesitated, but relayed the information anyway.
Spock stared.  "Are you sure, Captain?"
"Yes, I guess so."  Sam, wasn't sure, but he'd learned to trust the
advice given to him by Kirk, so it was probably all right.
Al read from his handlink.  "Just relax, Kirk says."
Spock moved to Sam, and placed his fingers on Sam's face.  Sam resisted
the impulse to back away.  Al stood riveted in the corner, his mouth
gaping open, the cigar burning in his hand.
"...My mind to your mind...My thoughts to your thoughts..."
Spock could feel the barriers being broken down, but this was a mind that
he hadn't encountered before, it certainly wasn't Jim.  As Spock broke
through the final barrier of the mind he was linking to, Jim's face
changed before his eyes.
Kirk's image changed to an older man.  Hair with a white streak through
the front.  A kind face, as humans go.  The face of Dr. Samuel Beckett.
Spock was aware that his surroundings had changed as well.  Normally, the
surroundings were of peripheral concern, and were not affected by a
mindmeld.  This time, though, the Captain's quarters were filled with a
hazy fog, that cracked strangely as if with blue static electricity.
There was a faint mechanical hum in the background, one not indigenous to
the Enterprise.
Spock also sensed another presence in the room, somehow linked in the
mindmeld to Dr. Beckett.  A man in garish cloths, holding a flashing
device and a smoking cigar was standing there.
/That's Al./ A pleasant voice came from somewhere.  The voice was a
combination of Kirk's voice, and another that Spock didn't recognize,
presumably Dr. Beckett's.
/SAM!  He can see me!/ Al was on the verge of panicking.
/Yes, I can hear you too./ Spock responded. /Do not fear, I mean you no
harm.  Is Captain Kirk here?/
/Yes Spock, I'm here./  Even though the voice was that strange
combination of voices, Spock was able to feel who was talking, Jim or Dr.
Beckett, though he didn't know how.  /I didn't know if this would work,
but if it didn't you'd at least be able to learn about Dr. Beckett./
Al was punching his control device, a handlink, Spock learned from Dr.
Beckett.  /Sam.  Gooshie says that Kirk has gone into some sort of
trance.  Dr. Beeks isn't around, so he's not sure what to do./
/His 'trance', as you call it, is expected, Al./ Spock responded.  /Jim
is also linked to us, though I do not know how./
/Our neurons and mesons partially exchange when I leap./ Dr. Beckett
responded. /I am part of him, and he is part of me.  Al locks on to my
neurons and mesons as well, that's probably why you can see him./
/That is logical./
/This is too much!/ Al punched the handlink, and a door opened in thin
air with a whisshh.  Al stepped through it.  /I can't handle this, Sam!
I'll check on Kirk./  The door closed with a whoonk, and disappeared.
Spock felt the connection to Al sever, and felt Dr. Beckett's distress at
the break.  There was obviously a close relationship between these two
humans that time could not completely erase.
/Spock,/ Jim broke in, /It appears that what has happened is that Dr.
Beckett has 'leaped' into me somewhat randomly.  They've explained that
they theorize that Dr. Beckett is drawn to events in time that are
critical in some way.  Dr. Beckett's mission is to correct whatever
problem causes the time disparity.  When he has completed his mission, he
leaps again to another lifetime.  Why did he leap into me?/
/Unknown, Jim,/ Spock responded, /We have no way of determining what
mission Dr. Beckett must complete./
/Very well,/ Jim said firmly, /They propose to continue with 'business as
usual', and I agree.  What do you think?/
/I am not sanguine about the idea, Jim, but I can find no other logical
alternative.  If Dr. Beckett is indeed drawn to you in some way, then
forcing him to leap out of you would not be successful./
/That's right,/ Dr. Beckett chimed in, /I'd probably just leap back in
again until the problem was fixed, whatever it is./
/Then it's agreed,/ Jim responded, /Spock, until this is cleared up, I
hereby appoint you the Captain of the Enterprise.  You will, however,
continue to appear as if you are the First Officer.  Use your judgement
if a situation appears that Dr. Beckett cannot handle./
/Acknowledged, Captain./
/Good luck, Spock, Dr. Beckett.  I'll relay anything we discover through
Al.  They have quite impressive computing analysis power here, for 1999,
even though I prefer my personal computer.  It doesn't talk back./
Dr. Beckett laughed. /You've obviously met Ziggy, Captain Kirk./
/Yes I have.  You picked an interesting Ego for your computer, Dr.
Beckett./
/It has its advantages./  Sam responded. /One more thing, Captain./
/Yes?/
/It is a privilege to talk to you.  This is the only time I've actually
been able to have a conversation with the person I've leaped into.  I
doubt I'll ever be able to do it again./
/Good luck, Dr. Beckett./ Kirk responded.
Sam could feel the mindmeld disconnecting.  The mist surrounding them was
disappearing, taking on the more substantial form of the Captain's
quarters.  Then, suddenly, like flipping a switch, it was over.
"That was astounding Spock!  How did you do that?"
Spock ignored Sam's question.  "I think we should take you to the Bridge,
Dr. Beckett."
Chapter 10 - 1999
-----------------
"It's time," Khan smiled. "Open the door."
The best of the Eugenics Team were standing in the blazing desert heat.
The entire area was glowing from the sun.  A non-descript door marked the
entrance to Project Quantum Leap.
Several members of Khan's team were working on the controls to the door.
Kirk, Al, and Gooshie were watching Khan's progress through Ziggy's
surveillance cameras.
"They're trying to break in," noted Ziggy.  "Do you want me to do
anything?"
"No, Ziggy," said Al quickly.  "I've called in the tactical support team.
They'll be here in ten minutes."  He chewed on his cigar.
"Can Khan enter this place in ten minutes?" asked Kirk, to nobody in
particular.
"Not a chance," boasted Ziggy.  "They won't get past the second door."
The first door to Quantum Leap opened.
Khan smiled.  "Excellent.  Continue on..."
The team moved into the Project entranceway.  An entrance room extended
to a small corridor, which was closed by a second automated door.  The
design team began to work on the door.
"Sir!  I have intercepted an emergency transmission from an Admiral
Calavicci inside Project Quantum Leap!  A support unit will be here in
ten minutes!"
Khan's smile disappeared.
"We must get in the building and seal it!" cried Khan.  "Quickly!  Blow
the door!"
The door was swiftly packed with explosives.  Everyone cleared the
entranceway as the door kara-amed off its track.  It was open!
Kirk stared at the monitor in disbelief.  "I thought you said they
couldn't get past the second door!"
"Well, I didn't think they would be using explosives." responded Ziggy,
petulantly.
Al was dumfounded.  No one had ever been able to break through the first
door,  they'd never had to worry about the second door!  "Can they break
into the control center in..."
"Seven minutes?" finished Ziggy.  "It is within the realm of possibility,
Admiral Calavicci."
"Get on the radio channel."  suggested Kirk  "The support team has to get
here faster!"
Khan's Radio Technician glanced up from his monitoring equipment.
"They're asking for the support team to hurry up, Sire."
"Excellent.  They're relatively defenceless."  Khan declared with
satisfaction.  "All they've got is these doors. Keep going!  We've only
got six minutes!"
Khan's team entered the second passageway.  A long hallway lead to the
north.  Two circular passageways led off to the west and the east.
"Which way!  This wasn't in the plan!" cried Joachim.
"Damn!  We can't afford to split up for too long."  Khan was spitting out
the words as if they were poison.  "All right.  Joachim, you take two
people and RUN down the west hall for thirty seconds.  Helena, you take
the east."
Khan looked down the long north corridor with determination.  "I will go
forward."
They moved quickly to carry out Khan's orders.
Kirk pointed excitedly at the monitor.  "Look!  They're splitting up!
Ziggy, is there some way we can shut off the east and west corridors and
seal them off?"
"Only if they go in so far.  They have to walk 30 meters into the
corridors."  replied Ziggy
"Damn!"  Kirk pounded his fist on the table.
"Well... maybe we could lead them in somehow."  suggested Al.
Kirk's head frowned in thought.  Then his face lit up with a smile.
"Yes!  Ziggy!  Can you project a simple Hologram into the adjoining
corridors?"
"No." Ziggy was famous for not giving advice unless asked.
"Wait!"  cried Al. "Can you project a simple image on the wall, with a
few sound effects from the broadcasting system?"
"Yes."
"Well!  Do it!"  cried Al.
"But what do you want me to project?"
"Ahh, I don't know!"  said Al, waving his hands in impatience.  "Try
something that looks like your control console and emit a few computer
beeps or something!  You emit every other kind of noise!  You figure it
out!"
"Executing...but you don't have to get nasty."
A soft humming noise came from somewhere in front of Joachim.  He turned
the edge of the curved corridor, and saw a computer control console in
the distance.
"We've found it!"  he cried, running forward to the controls.
Kirk was smiling devilishly.  "Lower the east door!"  A BAM sounded
through the surveillance system.  They were trapped!
Helena looked back the way she had come.  Had she heard something?  No.
It was just normal underground noises.  She moved forward and turned the
corridor.  A control console was in the distance, shimmering slightly and
emitting a soft beeping noise.
"Quickly!"  she turned to her partners,  "Go tell Khan that we've found
the Time Controls!"
The others ran back down the corridor.
"We're going to lose those ones!"  screamed Al. "Ziggy!  Close the west
door!"
Helena was staring back down the corridor at her partners as a door
closed before her with a KERAM!  Damn!  She was trapped!  She pounded her
fists against the door in failure.
"Sire!  Sire!"  Helena's partners went running down the north corridor to
meet Khan.  "It was a trap!  Helena's trapped!"
Khan's stare could have incinerated them live.  He ground his teeth and
looked at his watch.  The tactical team would arrive in FOUR minutes!
Khan fumed.
He looked down at the doors he had just come through.  They would never
close again.  He had made a serious tactical error.  Khan turned to the
north door.
"All right." he said softly, dangerously.  "We cannot retreat.  We must
go forward.  Bring the explosive!"  Khan pointed with an outstretched
finger. "We'll BLAST our way through that door!"
"Admiral Calavicci?" chimed Ziggy.
"Yes Ziggy, what is it?"
"We cannot allow them to blow through the control door.  The explosion
would damage the Leap controls and the controls for the Radium Ring
accelerator, with a 65% probability of collapse. More importantly, the
explosion would damage ME as well."  Ziggy rolled through the explanation
as if nothing abnormal was happening.
"Isn't it kind of stupid to have all critical controls in one room?"
queried Kirk.
"I wasn't designed for combat, fly boy"  chided Ziggy.  "I'm built to run
Project Quantum Leap, not defend the world from an overbearing dictator."
Al was not in the mood for banter.  "Well Ziggy," do you have any
suggestions?"
"Stop them from blowing the door."
Al chuckled unhappily.  "Great.  How do we do that?"
"Well I can't figure out everything for you."  Ziggy was getting petulant
again.
Kirk looked at the clock.  Three minutes. "Ziggy!  Do you control the
fire controls in this building?"
"Yes, Captain.  But I would like it better it if you tried to control MY
fire!"  Ziggy added suggestively.
"Never mind that!  Can you disable them?"
"Yes, Captain.  But why would I want to do that?"
"Because we're going to make a fire for ourselves."  Kirk turned his head
towards Al and smiled.
Chapter 11 - 1999
-----------------
"Hurry up."  Khan was impatient.  "Set up just enough so the door will
open but you won't kill us!"
"Yes Sire!"
Khan tapped his foot.
Gooshie picked up the Handlink control.  "Ok, it's all set!" he cried as
he ran into the Holographic Imaging Chamber.
"I hope this works, Kirk."  Al said dubiously as he entered the Chamber
himself.
"Don't worry, it'll work"  Kirk followed him in.  "I think."
"My my my."  Ziggy was panting, like a dog in heat.  "Things are getting
all steamed up in here."
The Quantum Leap control room was empty.  Nobody was there to hear Ziggy.
"Ok Gooshie. Activate the Imaging Chamber."  commanded Al.
Gooshie played with the flashing handlink, bashing it against the wall a
couple of times, and suddenly the room changed.
Kirk gasped.  He was in the Quantum Leap control room.  But he wasn't,
he was in the Imaging Chamber...or was he?
"We'll see everything that happens in the Control Room in this Chamber."
beamed Gooshie.  "I set it up just before I left the controls."
Two Minutes.
"All right Gooshie,"  Kirk was tense.  "Open the door for Khan.  Let's
welcome him in."
Kirk looked over to the south entrance door as it opened.  Khan was
there.  Kirk was amazed.  I left him on Ceti Alpha 5.  He's not supposed
to be here!  He's supposed to be on the Botany Bay for another 200 years!
Khan was dumbfounded.  His technicians stopped their work, and looked
into the room.  WHY had the door just opened?
Kirk saw Khan take a half step into the room.  He gasped as Khan looked
right through him.  But of course, Kirk wasn't there.  He was in the
Imaging Chamber.
Khan looked suspiciously at the empty control room.  A circular blue
globe was glittering in the ceiling.  There were several control panels
around, but no people.
Was this entire defence system automated?  Khan thought to himself.  Who
tricked me?
"Well, come on in."  A pleasant female voice rang through the silence.
"My, you're a fine specimen!"
Khan's eye's widened in surprise.  "Who speaks?"
"It it I, Ziggy"  The voice was filled with humor and even giggled
slightly.
One minute.
"Show yourself!"  Khan declared to empty space.
"You already see me.  I'm the blue globe in the ceiling, wonder boy."
Khan, completely disarmed at this comment, walked into the room and
stared at the globe.  The technicians followed.
"All right."  Kirk licked his lips.  "Gooshie.  Tell Ziggy to freeze the
explosives with liquid oxygen and coat them with a fire retarding spray.
Then fill the room with pure oxygen."
Gooshie complied, shaking his head.  "I sure hope you know what you're
doing."
Khan turned.  The door was filled with a cold mist, and a light hiss
could be heard from above.  It didn't smell like anything dangerous.
"What are you doing?" he asked to Ziggy.
"Oh, just cooling things down a bit.  You just light my..."
"Fire!"  yelled Kirk.
Khan turned as he heard the north door fly open on the other side of the
chamber.
A blazing fire exploded into the oxygen rich area with a WHOOM, engulfing
the entire room and the south corridor.  Just before the fire consumed
Khan a fire-retarding spray blew on him with such a force that he was
knocked to the floor.  He was smothered with the white foam, and lost
consciousness from the lack of oxygen.
Kirk instinctively ducked as the fire leaped at him and surrounded him.
But it was not there.  He was seeing a hologram.
"Gooshie quickly!  Put the fire out.  Khan must not die!"
Khan lay on the floor groaning as the support troops rushed into the
room, right on time.
Chapter 12 - 1999
-----------------
Kirk, Gooshie and Al left the holographic imaging chamber to assess the
damage to the Quantum Leap control room.  The support team had quickly
surrounded Khan and his colleagues.  Khan, half frozen and half
unconscious from the fire, was carried out of the control room under
heavy restraint.  He did not notice Kirk or Al, and Kirk preferred it
that way.
"We will have our confrontation," Kirk thought, "but not for another two-
hundred years."  He watched as Gooshie examined the Leap controls.
Ziggy's glowing blue sphere was blackened and dead.
"The control room is wrecked!" cried Gooshie.  "We have no way of
activating the leap controls now!  The Imaging Chamber still works
because I've got the handlink, but we will never be able to leap again!"
Al looked deflated.  He'd never see his best buddy again, except in that
damned chamber.  The project was destroyed.  Ziggy was destroyed.  Only
Sam could rebuild the thing.  With only a handlink connection, that was
damn near impossible as well.
Chapter 13 - 1999
-----------------
The guards carried Khan out of the Quantum Leap facility.  They had
captured all the others as well, and trucked them off the facility.  The
Admiral watched the proceedings from his car, sighed, and strode into the
project's blasted entranceway.  He walked down the long entrance corridor
and entered the devastated control room.
"Well, it looks like I've come not a moment too soon!  Al, you always
needed me to come in and pick up the pieces!"
Kirk whirled at the familiar voice.  An older man in an Admiral's uniform
strode in through the smoke and mist.  His mouth dropped open as he
recognized the figure.
"Gary!  What in the world are you doing here?"  Al switched to a tone
reserved for old friends.  He walked over and pumped Gary Seven's hand
enthusiastically.  Kirk remembered to close his mouth.
Admiral Gary Seven turned to examine Kirk.  "Well, Captain Kirk, you're
masquerading as Dr. Beckett now, aren't you?"  When Sam leaped into Kirk,
they exchanged bodies, but not external auras.  This enabled Sam to look
like Kirk, but the reverse was true as well.  Kirk still hadn't gotten
used to the idea.
It was Al's turn to be astounded. "H--How did you know that Kirk had
leaped into here?"
Seven's eye's twinkled, but Kirk answered.
"I would guess that there isn't much that Admiral Seven doesn't know, am
I right in that?"  Kirk queried.
"Right you are Kirk.  All knowing, all seeing.  With a little help from
my friendly neighborhood Beta Five."
"You two've met before?"  Al was dumbfounded.
"Er, yes," responded Seven, "In 1968.  Where the Enterprise is now, I
believe?"
"Yes Gary,"  responded Kirk,  "and I think I know why you're asking..."
Chapter 14 - 1968
-----------------
"Sam, we figured out why you're here!"
Sam practically leaped out of the Captain's chair as Al appeared behind
him.
"Jeez I hate that!" Sam thought.
"Sam, get Spock and go somewhere private so we can talk!"  Al was
strangely elated, his hands flying in all directions.  He was puffing and
puffing that stupid cigar, with a huge smile on his lips.
Sam got out of the chair and headed for the turbolift.  He had already
versed himself on the names and duties of the Bridge officers.  "Mr.
Chekov, continue monitoring Earth.  Mr. Sulu, you have the conn.  Mr.
Spock, please follow me."
Sam heard a chorus of "Aye, Captain"s as he held the turbolift open and
Spock entered.
"You go on Sam."  Al added.  "I'll meet you when you get out of the
elevator.  I don't want to be in a closed place with THAT..." Al
shuddered as he pointed to Spock, who was oblivious to the comment.  "He
gives me the heebe-jeevies!  He looks too much like the man downstairs,
if you know what I mean."
Al stopped to take a look at Lieutenant Uhura, grunted approvingly, and
punched buttons on the handlink.  "Kirk sure knows how to pick 'em!" he
mumbled through his cigar as he vanished.
Sam simply shook his head as the turbolift doors closed.
Sam, Spock, and Al entered the conference room a few decks below the
bridge.  Sam began.
"Spock, Al's here with me, and he says he knows why I'm here."
"Indeed.  Please relay the information."
Al sighed.  "He's worse than Ziggy!"
Sam rolled his eyes.  "Don't start.  Just give me the information."
"Ok Sam.  Relay this message from Kirk.  Kirk says that Gary Seven is in
the Quantum Leap Control Room.  We just stopped an attack on the Project.
The attacker was Khan. ...Jeez, Sam.  Just look how his eyebrows jump
into that funny hairdo.  You'd think that those things were alive!"
Sam stopped reporting to Spock.  "Al..."
"Ok, ok.  Kirk says that Khan isn't on the Botany Bay, or somehow he got
off, and we--meaning you and Spock--have to jump to 1996 to fix the
problem."
Chapter 15 - 1996
-----------------
"You will NEVER walk on this soil again!", Admiral Ritter was gloating.
Khan nodded, but did not appear convinced.  He turned, and entered the
Botany Bay.  After a few minutes, a group of technicians and soldiers
left the craft.
"All set, sir."  One of the techs saluted as he closed the door on the
Botany Bay.
"Good.  Set the launch and let's be done with it."  The General smiled.
A voice thundered over the speaker system.  "CLEAR FOR LAUNCH!"
Inside the Khan's sleeper chamber, the Khan/Imposter was smiling as the
coldness began to bite his feet.  He knew that the true lord, Khan, would
soon take over the world.  His hibernation was a small price to pay for
the glory the world would see.
Spock was monitoring the Botany Bay's progress from the Enterprise.
"Scanning... Systems on the Botany Bay located and coordinates locked
in."  He paused.  "Khan and his group are now located.  Proceeding with
plan."
Spock waited a moment longer, and pressed a button on his console.
"Transporter Room, Energize."
Khan Noonian Singh stepped back from his position behind the group and,
out of sight, pulled off his faceshield.  "Excellent work,"  he thought,
walking away from the launch site as the Botany Bay surged into the sky
with a fiery roar.  He continued on to a group of waiting men and women,
his loyal team, waiting for him to lead them to glory.
Suddenly, the team sparkled and vanished.  Khan stopped, dumbfounded.
Then, the air sparkled again and the team was back.  Khan resumed his
walk towards them, taking steps hesitatingly. He was suddenly stopped in
mid-stride as the transporter gripped and disassembled him.
Khan awoke in his sleeping chamber aboard the Botany Bay.  He pounded on
the door, but it sealed him in like a coffin.  His mind didn't have time
to analyze what had happened before the coldness pulled him into
suspended animation, not to awaken for another two-hundred years.
Chapter 16
----------
In 1996, Sam was puzzled.
"How did you know where to locate Khan?"  Sam asked.
"We have transported and scanned Khan and his people medically in the
future."  Spock explained reluctantly.  "It is unwise to know too much
about your future."
"Right you are, Spock.  Al.  When do I leap?"
Al looked up exasperatingly.  "You can't leap.  The Quantum Leap Chamber
is kaput!  Ziggy's dead!"
Sam was stunned.  "Al says I can't leap because the Project is destroyed.
Now what do I do?"
"Not so, Dr. Beckett."  Spock interjected.  "You see, we exchanged Khan
and his people for their faked counterparts in the Botany Bay.  So none
of this will happen.  Everything will balance in time when you leap."
Sam brightened visibly.  "So...what am I waiting for?"
In 1999, Kirk smiled at Admiral Seven.
"Well Gary, looks like we've done it again, we seem to make a great team.
But why are you involved in this?"
"A freak accident several years ago killed one of the major contributors
to the Eugenics Project.  If the project was delayed, then you would not
have met Khan in your future, since he never would have existed.  My
involvement gave them a device so that they could continue their work.
I've also... helped things a bit over the years."
Kirk mused over this.  "Hmm.  No Khan might be better.  The Eugenics Wars
would never have happened."
"The war must happen, Captain.  True, the impact of the Eugenics Wars
resulted in..." Seven corrected himself, "...will result in significant
agony and loss to mankind, but the backlash in opinion is just what we
need right now.  This is also the only way your Federation will be
born..."
Suddenly Kirk understood.  "Even in my time the idea of genetically
improving the species is disgusting, and is almost never attempted,
certainly not on this same scale.  The Wars served as a catalyst of
public opinion to work together to form the Federation."
"Yes Captain, but that won't happen for a little while in your Earth's
time."
Kirk smiled uneasily, his face worried at the thought of the distress the
world would feel until the Federation was conceived.
Gary looked around, satisfied that no one had been listening in on their
conversation.  "It's time for you to leap, and Roberta is waiting for me.
She's gotten quite cantankerous in her old age, you know.  She's worse
than my Beta Five!"
Now Kirk's smile was real, the unease disappeared, but Gary was speaking
again.
"You seem to have trouble keeping out of the past, Captain.  Please try
not to do it too much.  It's not good for my ulcer."  Gary shook Kirk's
hand.  "However, I will tell you one thing that you must know in the
future.  You will need to go to the past again to retrieve the whales..."
Suddenly, Kirk felt dizzy.  He looked down at his hands and saw that they
were covered in a blue aura.  In fact, his entire body was surrounded by
it.  Waves of it coursing over his skin, surging through his body, like
veins of energy.  And then...a faint tinkling sound, growing stronger.
The tinkles merged with a low bassy throb.  He gazed in desperation at
Seven, unable to speak.  The noise built to a climax as Kirk felt the hum
tear his body apart.  His mind exploded into a million points of light
screaming out in all directions.
Kirk stared as Seven dissolved and was replaced by Spock.
"Well, Spock.  I guess you could say mission accomplished, eh?"
"Yes, Sir.  I think this time you could say that.  Welcome back Jim."