Deadly Poison - Part II

Moonbase Alpha's status report, 1357 days after leaving earth's orbit Dr. Bob Mathias recording. The medical staff on Alpha has for the last couple of days been baffled by the pregnancy of Dr. Helena Koenig. Her husband and Commander of the base, has also been affected by this pregnancy. They are both in stasis. Placed there by their unborn son. Prof. Bergman is assisting in a bizarre way in their recovery. We are now in reach of a planet. With Commander Koenig in stasis, Paul Morrow has taken command of Moonbase Alpha. Everyone is up in arms and unsettled by the recent turn of events.

"How do you suppose that will help me at this time, Alibe?" Alan Carter said annoyed.

"Do we need to discuss this now?" Alibe asked.

"Damn it, Alibe, don't play games with me! I am serious about this!" he shouted.

The Alphans walking down the corridor tried hard not to stare at the couple but they were making a spectacle of themselves. Alibe had her hands on her hip in akimbo. Alan was blocking her path.

"Alan, I never play games. Look at me do I look like I find this funny?" Alan looked at her and he felt his chest tighten. He was going to lose her. He was afraid for the first time in his life to lose a woman.

"OK, let's go somewhere private," Alan extended his hand to her and she took it. They walked quietly to the Recreation Center. They found a quiet spot and sat. Alan sat beside her.

"Alibe, I don't know how to put it except to come right out and say it."

"Alan, I know what you are going to say and frankly I do not want to hear it." Alan was stunned by that response.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"Alan for pity sake give it a rest. You need to grow up," she said, wondering why she was still in love with him. He was exasperating.

Alan took her hand, "Alibe let me explain. I..."

"Alan, I am not blind I can tell."

"I am sorry, Alibe," Alan could see she was disappointed.

"Somehow I knew this would happen. I know you love me Alan but you can be a bonehead sometimes. You have to fix this. I did not mean to make it sound like an ultimatum, but I guess it was."

"Yeah, well, are you going to stop dating me because of it?" he quarried.

Alibe looked at Alan this was a good question. She did not want to say the first thing that came to mind so she thought about it. Her suggestion that he should become a Christian had backfired and she did not want to make it worse.

"Alan, I want someone who will pray with me, talk to me about Jesus, worship with me and also grow spiritually with me. The fact that I love you makes it difficult. You can't do all those things. I guess I wanted what I could not have. I have to learn to let go, Alan. I destroyed you because I wanted you no matter what. I cannot be selfish anymore, Alan, I love you too much for that."

"What are you saying, Alibe?" Alan's voice caught in his throat. He could feel his chest tighten.

Alibe's hand went to his face then she touched his hair. She looked into his sad eyes. "I love you, so much Alan, but I have to let you go," Alan made to speak but she silenced him with a quick kiss on the lips, then she spoke. "If we are meant to be we will find our way back to each other."

She saw the well of unshaded tears standing in his eyes and he saw hers. He took heart from the fact that she was also miserable about this. "Alibe I..,"

"Don't, Alan, don't make this harder than it already is. I must go. How is Helena doing by the way?"

Alan pulled himself together and stood bringing her to her feet with him. "She is still in danger and so is the Commander."

"I am sorry to hear that. I will be praying for them," she said. Alan brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Alibe's other hand went back to his face.

"I love you Alan Tym Carter. I won't forget our love. I will wait for you. You will find your way back to me," she said.

"I love you, Alibe Natalie Parsons." Their lips met briefly for a kiss and she left. Alan watched her go and knew it was for the best. He would find his way back to her.

He walked out of the Recreation Center and headed to medical. It had been two days since the Koenigs went into stasis. Alan entered medical to see Victor hard at work. He was not monitoring two people it was three. Millicent Fegel was hooked up to the monitors. Alan entered the room to see what he was doing.

Alan nodded to Bob who was by the telemetry machine. He approached Bob. "What's up, mate?"

"The Professor lost his mind two days ago. He has Helena's baby listening to Bible stories. He is trying to convert him. The weirdest thing is it seems to be working. Where there were no brain activity, we now have brain activity. Not only that, but they are not in as deep a sleep as before. Victor seems to think the child is assessing the information he feeds it."

"What?"

"You heard me," Bob said.

Alan looked over at the professor. Victor was working feverishly.

"What's going on with Milly?"

"Victor, is trying to get the kid to draw the blood it needs from Millicent, the alien blood. Milly has more than Helena does now. He seems to be giving Helena a major transfusion. All the tainted blood in Milly is being filtered by the fetus."

"Say what." Alan and could see blood flowing from Helena to Milly and vise versa he had never seem anything like it.

"Yes, and it seems to be working. Look at all those tubes going in and out of those two."

Alan was baffled. Three nurses came in and pulled a curtain around the three patients. Victor came over to them.

"Well, how does it look, Bob?" Victor asked.

"It look f..." before Mathias finished what he was saying the monitors around Millicent Fegel went off. Bob jumped up and all three raced to her bed.

The transfusion had stopped going into Helena from Millicent or the child. Millicent's arms and legs were swelling rapidly.

"What's happening, Victor?" Bob asked going over to the bed. He ordered Hydravax a diuretic to eliminate the bloating and prevent further water retention. The nurse race back with it and attached it to the IV.

Mathias reached for the needle to inject potassium acetate into her arm. As the needle pierced her skin, she started bleeding through the puncture. The monitors went wild and Millicent's blood pressure rose.

"Give me a blood pressure reading, Marie!" Bob shouted while trying to stem the blood flow.

"Systolic 160 mm, Hg diastole 110 mm hg and climbing," Marie stepped back Millicent was beginning to swell up and she looked like she was about to explode. Victor removed the connection between Milly and Helena as he realized what was happening.

The fetus was flushing Helena's blood into Milly and rapidly replacing Helena's blood with his new blood. Helena's monitors alarmed and she flat-lined. Victor had done the opposite. He shuddered as he watched his plans turn deadly. Instead of helping Helena, he had killed them both.

The monitors bleeped as Millicent's blood vessels ruptured. The blood poured from every hole imaginable. Her eyes wept blood. It exploded into the air from her mouth and everyone in the room was drenched with blood. Her monitor went flat.

Helena's monitor took up its rhythm again and bleeped. She was alive.

Victor and the rest watched helplessly as Millicent Fegel flat lined. Alan stood covered in blood. He looked on in horror as Bob Mathias turned to Victor Bergman who had sunk to the floor on his knees in despair.

Victor was in tears and Bob tried to no avail to comfort him. The nurses were running about in total confusion and fright. Blood was everywhere except on Helena and John. Alan slowly backed out of the room.

This is not bizarre. This is something from the twilight zone.

Alan beat a hasty retreat from the room and ran to his quarters. Bob left Victor and tried to get the nurses to calm down. He felt the hysteria rising in his chest as well. Others came in and one person made the sign off the cross over his chest and backed out of the room.

Helena faded in as an intense pain hit her. She was blinded by it for a moment. The pain subsided in a few minutes. Helena could see it had snowed outside and she was bundled up in a coat. The coat was made of a strange material she had never seen before.

John was before her and he was pushing a little honey blonde-haired girl in a swing. The little girl was laughing and calling him daddy. She seemed to be ten years old. They were going forward in time. She walked over to them.

John turned to her as she approached them. The little girl jumped from the swing and ran into her arms. Helena looked into her own golden green eyes as she scooped her off her feet. The little girl laughed and cupped her mothers face with her hands. "Come push me, mommy," she said.

Helena lowered her to the floor and took the hand she offered. As they strolled off together, John's eyes met hers and she winked at him and gave him a brief kiss. John could see she was enjoying this new change into the future. John also noted the fact that Helena's eyes were no longer green but was more a golden color.

While Helena was pushing the little girl, John noticed a shadowy figure coming around the side of the trees. He called to Helena and she stopped pushing the laughing child. He pointed to the figure approaching and watched as the child noticed the man.

She sprang from her swing and laughed. She bolted across the snow and he started running as well. "Isaiah," the little girl said.

"Natalie, my darling," the man said lifting her and spinning her around and around as she giggled. Another figure came forward. John and Helena watched as all three played together in the snow.

Yet more people started coming around the corner and they recognized them, no matter that they seemed to be twenty years older. They were all carrying picnic baskets. They waved to Helena and John who were surprised to say the least.

"John, I don't understand. They look twenty years older, yet we look the same."

As the former Alphans set out their picnic baskets, tables, chairs and blankets Isaiah approached them.

"Who are you?" John asked.

"You already know who I am," was his response. John looked at him, then at Helena.

He took John's hand in his, then Helena's. "You must leave now," he said.

Helena knew something was wrong she could feel the pain that had left her coming back, and strongly. John felt it too as soon as Isaiah touched him.

"Why are we here?" John asked.

"You know," Isaiah said.

Helena felt herself fall backwards into nothingness. John's hand was still holding hers and so was Isaiah's.

Helena felt strange. She could feel more than one hand on her body and she could hear voices all around her. The pain she felt before had become less and as she rose to the surface, it diminished even further.

"Her eyes are fluttering open," Bob grinned down at Helena as her eyes opened. Bob noticed that her eyes were gold speckled with just a hint of green.

That's odd, he thought. Helena opened her mouth to speak but she could not. She could see and hear them but she could not speak yet.

"Check his vitals," Bob spoke to Dr. Ed Spencer while pointing to John.

"His blood pressure is rising. He seems to be in a lot of pain. Increase in brain activity denotes the severity of it. It could be fatal," Ed said.

Helena spoke then, "What's wrong with John?"

Dr. Mathias squeezed her hand, he did not want to alarm her. He knew Helena well however, and he knew he could hide nothing from her.

"John is experiencing extreme discomfort. The child has changed your blood. Your blood is no longer yours. You have the child's blood. You could not be feeling any discomfort now. John is feeling all of it," Bob responded.

"How did that happen?" she asked. Bob did not respond to this question. He continued.

"The child is using John as a conduit. He's dying, Helena."

Bob watched as Helena's eyes clouded over for a moment. He could see that what he said had not registered in Helena's mind. Helena's head moved from side to side.

She was trying to figure something out. "Helena, don't worry we will do all we can to help John," Bob said.

Helena felt someone squeeze her other hand and she focused on Victor. She could see pain in his eyes. Helena also noticed that many technicians and maintenance people were cleaning the room.

"Victor, what happened? Why do I have more of this blood in me than before?"

Helena watched as Victor hesitated and turned his head away. He did not speak.

Helena turned to Bob. "Bob, what happened?"

"We tried to give you a transfusion and it backfired," was all he said.

Helena knew there must be more to it than that but she had other things on her mind. John was dying. She returned to the places in the future she had visited with John. She tried to find the clues that would help her save John's life.

Helena realized in a few moments that the answer was there all along. If that were the future, then we did save John's life, but how?

Helena indicated to Bob that she wanted to sit up. Both men helped and she sat up in bed. She felt strangely rejuvenated and she could hear the faintest of sounds in medical. She looked at her skin and realized that it had become firmer and spotless. She frowned. Something odd just occurred but she still did not know what.

She knew it had to do with what she saw in the future. It must contain a clue to saving John. Helena watched as they removed John to another bed. Helena also realized that she kept hearing a faint sound that did not originate in this room.

She looked at John Koenig still in stasis and danger.

"Helenaaaa". She was sure she heard that and it sounded like it was coming from John and getting fainter.

She listened more intently and could hear the orderly outside in the other room say, "I have never seen so much blood in my entire life." Helena shuddered, Whose blood?

"Helenaaaa". There it is again coming from John. He is trying to reach me. Helena stared in wonder at this new awakening that was before her. Her hearing ability had increase 10 fold and she was reading John Koenig's thoughts.

"Bob, why are the orderlies cleaning this room?" Helena asked.

Bob stopped in his tracks and looked at Professor Bergman. The exchange between the two was not lost on Helena. She looked at Victor as he turned to face her.

The monitors around John Koenig went off. Koenig was coming out of stasis.

"He is coming out of stasis!" yelled Dr. Mathias.

"He'll die if he does," cautioned Bergman.

"What do we do?" questioned Dr. Mathias.

"A sedative, a strong one," Helena told them. She came off her bed cautiously. She did not feel her feet touch the ground.

Before Bob could administer the sedative John came out of stasis. The monitors went haywire then alarms went off all around them. Helena could hear John screams of agony as he came to the surface and faced pain beyond the imagination.

John's eyes opened as well as his mouth but no sound came out. Helena held him and watched as his eyes rolled over in his head. Everyone watched as John Koenig flat-lined. The crew went into action. Bob shouted for the crash cart and grabbed it as the orderlies pulled it in. He shocked John and they watched the monitors anxiously.

"Administer the sedative," Helena ordered.

"What? That would kill him!" Bob interjected strongly.

"Administer a strong sedative, then increase the voltage. As he comes back he will stabilize and the sedative will then take effect," she stated.

Bob increased the voltage and the nurse injected him before he shocked him. They watched as John's monitor jumped. A steady beat resounded in medical. John Koenig was alive. The sedative also put him back into stasis.

John woke to find himself in another dark room. He heard crying and looked through the darkness into the room. He was in a funeral parlor. He looked through the curtains and he saw a body laid out in a wooden coffin. John could see it was a man. He saw Alibe Parsons looking almost 80 year's old standing over the coffin weeping. She had three strong boys around her holding her up.

As John made to step out into the light, he felt a hand drawing him back into the room. He turned around to see Isaiah standing before him. He looked to be twenty but John knew he should at least be forty if not older.

"What is going on?" John asked.

"You need to stay a little longer," Isaiah said.

"Why?" John asked.

"You will die if you go back now," he said.

"Where is Helena?" John asked.

"She is safe and home," Isaiah stated.

John looked into his eyes and somehow trusted him. He felt the boy was trying to help but he did not know how.

John heard a faint voice in his head it sounded like Helena's voice. 'John, can you hear me. John, come back to me. Get Isaiah to help us figure this out.'

"Come with me," Isaiah took his hand and the nagging ache in John subsided.

"Helena," John cried as he faded out.

"How did you know that would work, Helena?" Bob asked.

"I don't know Bob, I just knew somehow." Helena held his hand and listened to his heartbeat. John was alive and that was all she needed to know.

"Tell me what's going on, Bob." Helena looked at him earnestly.

"Millicent Fegel died earlier this morning," Bob looked away when he said it. Helena gasped as though she had been wounded.

"What happened?" She took Bob's arm as she said it. Victor Bergman came over then as he had heard the question.

"I tried to give you a direct transfusion from her. It backfired. The fetus took all her tainted alien blood into its system and flushed his into yours. It then proceeded to give you a total transfusion and flush your blood into Milly. Both of you died and somehow your alien blood started reproducing rapidly. The blood running in your veins is no longer yours," Victor ended on a shaky note.

"Victor, how could you involve Millicent in this?" Helena's eyes blazed at him. For the second time in weeks, Helena's wrath had been turned on him and Victor did not savor this feeling. He looked away.

Helena took a deep breath. She looked at Victor then at Mathias. She was speechless. What have they done? she wondered. The men stayed away from her for a while as she grieved the lost of Millicent. She stood at John's side a little worried.

John was stable and they hoped he would stay that way. They wondered when would be a good time to tell her she was no longer the same. They figured no time would be good so after a while they approached her.

"Um Helena, mm, William discovered something earlier about the alien blood it seems it has all the nutrients and vitamins a body needs. It is self regenerating," Victor added.

Helena was stunned into silence.

"Do you feel any different?" Bob asked.

"I just noticed that I have a keen sense of hearing and my skin has smoothed out," she said, "I can also hear John's thoughts somehow."

"Helena, your eyes are now a golden color with flecks of green," Bob observed. Helena was startled by the revelation, she went over to one of the shinny trays and lifted it to her face. Her eyes were indeed golden for that matter her hair was turning a platinum color from the ends upward. The roots were still honey blonde.

"How do you feel, Helena?" Victor asked.

"I feel revitalized. I feel almost ...I don't know," she smiled at this. She was at a loss for words. She remembered another time she was at a loss for words and John's words came back to her, "I didn't know you cared."

His nonchalance and bravado had irked her. Now she smiled as she remembered the incident. It was at that time she had found him a fascinating man. Now she was pregnant for him and he was in a fetus-induced stasis.

The future could go either way. I must think. Helena wondered back to John's bed. John, can you hear me. John, come back to me. Get Isaiah to help us figure this out.

Helena felt she was clutching at straws. She looked beyond him and saw the CD and player. She did not want to find out just what Victor had been up to. She loved Victor but of late, he had said and done some upsetting things.

"Helena?"

"Yes, Bob," she responded.

"The monitor indicated that the discomfort John felt is dropping. The pain has decreased," Helena stepped over to the monitor and none too soon as the shield went up around John Koenig. The forcefield grew and forced them from the room.

Helena watched as John disappeared from sight. Helena felt the panic rise within her them subside, calm then ensued. She felt the child was protecting John. Helena did not understand what was happening. All she knew was that the child possessed special abilities. Wherever John was he was with Isaiah.

Helena reached her hand out to touch the forcefield. Bob quickly pulled her away. They had tried that before with a rag and it lit up like a Christmas tree.

"You would have died instantly, Helena," Bob said holding her close. Helena watched as the room was engulfed by the forcefield yet nothing was burnt. She must admit it was fascinating to watch.

John felt himself free fall into air. He was going through some sort of tunnel. Suddenly just as soon as it started, it stopped. He opened his eyes again and he was in another room. This one was far more superior to the rooms he had been in before.

Everywhere he looked he saw a new and fascinating sight. The place was modern beyond his imagination. The room was full of light and color. He was in an emerald room with black and gold accessories. The wealth and opulence of the place impressed him. He walked around touching everything. He was amazed at the fine artistry and design of the entire room.

A door opened and closed behind him. Somehow, John knew it was Isaiah. He did not turn.

"What are you doing, Isaiah?" John asked.

"I thought you would have figured it out by now. You must you know."

"Are you playing games with me? I know who you are so what is this about?" The door opened again and John turned this time. He saw two girls walk in. One looked like the splitting image of Helena and the other a mixture of Isaiah and someone else.

John stared at them. This was getting weirder by the minutes. "How far into the future are we?" John asked.

"Don't you want to know why you are still here?" Isaiah asked.

"I already figured it had something to do with the alien blood," John responded.

"Go on," Isaiah prodded.

"The child is trying to change Helena's blood type. Helena and I are young and so are you in the future," John added.

Isaiah clapped his hands and smiled at John. "And finally?" he asked.

"Finally, you want me to have the same blood. You want your mother and me to be what you are. We could have only gotten that way through that amazing blood, Victor told us about," John concluded.

Isaiah only smiled.

"Somehow, I can hear Helena's thoughts in here," John mused.

"Yes, you are both connected. Every time I took your hands, I transferred your psyches. You are now both empaths of each other," Isaiah said calmly.

"You want Helena to give me her new blood don't you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"The future holds the answer. If you do not do this you will die," Isaiah stated.

"Why are we in pain?"

"The travail of a new birth."

"Explain."

"You're dying to live."

"The forcefield is a cocoon?" John asked.

"Yes."

"Did Helena die?"

"Yes."

"I can hear her thoughts still."

"Yes."

"Is she still alive?"

"Yes."

"Will I know the reasons for all this?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Ten years from now."

"Am I dying now?"

"Yes." Isaiah pushed the children forward and John looked down at them.

"These are my grandchildren," Isaiah answered.

John's mouth opened he looked 5 years older than the last time John had seen him. Realization dawned on John. John Koenig had never been floored by anything in his life, but this leveled him. The girls came forward and took his hands.

Helena Koenig stood praying at her husband's bedside. When the forcefield dropped, she had rushed into the room. John was pale. They had inserted an IV into his arm to feed him. John was dying and Helena had not come up with a way to save him.

The tears streamed down her face as she watched him get paler and his vitals get weaker. Helena leaned over to kiss him and heard a faint sound as her lips touched his. Helena's tears fell on his face and she watched as it landed and was absorbed by his skin. She was surprised by this.

Something Victor had said nagged at her.

She heard a whisper from John. It was her name and a word, Transfer. It was so faint Helena was not sure what John had said.

Bob watched her from the observation desk and called Victor, who was in his lab still analyzing the strange properties of the blood they had just drawn from Helena.

Helena felt time was running out. She looked at Bob and guess that he was worried about her. She had not really eaten in days and she was not hungry now. A side effect from the new blood no doubt.

Helena sat holding John's hand. She watched as Victor entered the room. Mmm, I thought so, calling in reinforcements are you, Bob? Well it won't work. I'm not leaving John's bedside.

Helena watched as Victor spoke to Bob then they were joined by Sandra Benes. Oh, Bob must really be desperate to call Sahn.

They approached Helena. Before they could speak Helena's hand went up to stop them. "I am not leaving John's side." The look Helena gave them broke no arguments. Victor knew he was already in the doghouse so he turned to Sahn.

Sahn opened her mouth to speak, again but Helena stopped her.

"Forget it Sahn. I'm not leaving," she stated. Sahn left with this parting shot. "It will do neither of you any good if you make yourself sick too."

What Sahn said pricked her heart. She knew she was right but Helena did not want to miss anything especially if John wanted to reach her mentally.

Helena squeezed his hand. Someone came in and set a tray before her. Helena looked at it and remembered what Sahn had said. She eat a little of it. The monitors bleeped and Helena saw that John was coming again out of stasis but slowly this time. His vitals crept up.

Victor and Bob came forward. "Should I give him another dose of sleep medication?" Bob asked Helena.

"No, it would kill him," she responded.

"How do you know that?" Bob asked.

"I don't know, I just know," Helena said pushing back the hair from her face. Helena was very much aware that if John came out of stasis right now he could have a crippling stroke.

"What do we do now?" Victor asked.

Helena was distracted as she watched his vital signs improve on its own. His brain activities increased and Helena saw his brows knit. He was coming out faster now. Helena remembered something from her future something that was constantly nagging at her. During all the experiences, neither John nor she had aged. Helena knew that that was significant somehow.

As she watched John's vital signs Helena remembered her tears on John's cheeks. John had absorbed it. An idea occurred to Helena.

"Victor, did you say that this blood was pure energy?" she asked.

"Yes, pure energy," he answered.

"Do you think it was somehow genetically engineered by the Titans?"

"Mmm, well it's a possibility," Victor said pursing his lips.

"How long do you suppose it took them to engineer it and perfect it?"

"Well, given the fact that they seem to like to experiment, I think they must have spent a lifetime or more perfecting it," Victor's mind went back to their end and he frowned.

"Do you think they passed this on to each other or just to the hierarchy?" she asked.

"I think only the elite knew about this. I do not see them sharing this technology. As a matter of fact it could have been the first time they used this method."

"Why do you say that?" Helena turned to him and then walked to Bob as she spoke to Victor. "Bob, set up an IV from my arm to John's," she said.

"They struck me as a little primitive and hasty in some ways, clumsy in their delivery. I think they just used it to see the results. That is why the doctor wanted you and Milly," Victor responded before Bob spoke.

Helena let her hand rest on Bob before he spoke. "Why are you giving John your blood?" he asked.

"Call it a hunch but John said the words transfer earlier and you said the child gave me a total blood transfusion. Well, Bob, by my book that is impossible, the child could not handle all that blood in such a short time nor could he give me so much blood nor convert it so fast. I think this blood did most of the work itself with a little help from the lad here," Helena rolled up her sleeves as she spoke.

"Are you saying this blood is alive?" Bob asked.

"I am saying this blood was genetically engineered and it maybe the answer to saving John's life. I don't think John said transfer. I think he was trying to say transfusion," Helena sat on the bed as Bob ran the IV directly from her arms up into a bag and down into John's arms. The golden liquid flowed slowly into John's arms.

"His vitals are stabilizing, Helena," Bob said incredulously. Victor went to the monitors and looked at John's vital signs. He could not believe how fast John was improving.

"How much blood do you want to give him?" Bob asked.

"A total transfusion," Helena responded. Bob Mathias had seen everything in this case but he had not seen a human being give a total transfusion. He turned to Helena.

"Are you serious?"

"Bob, it's the only way to save John,"

"Helena, I won't do it. It could kill both you and the child," Bob insisted.

"Bob, trust me on this. I was right about John and the sedative. I know I am right about this," Bob was hesitant.

Victor interjected, "If she is right and the blood is helping then I think she should try this. In just a few more minutes and John will be out of stasis. I cannot figure out though why the pain has intensified. Helena is no longer in pain. This must be coming from something else."

"But what," Bob asked.

"I think I know, It's Isaiah," Helena said wistfully.

The men said, "Isaiah?" in unison.

"Yes, Isaiah," Helena said strongly.

"Who is Isaiah?" Bob asked.

"I do not know if I can explain Isaiah. I met him in stasis. He took John and me to the future. There is a planet out there for us, Bob. I have seen it. There is a future for us out there and it looks rich and fulfilling. I think Isaiah wanted us to see that and to have hope. I think he found a way through the future to connect with us back in time," she said.

"Helena, you are not making any sense," Bob said.

"I think Isaiah came back in time to save John's life and the life of his future siblings," Helena spoke smiling. The peace and tranquility she had felt in the beginning were returning to her.

"What are you saying, Helena?" Bob was getting a little distracted. John's vitals were not only improving but his pain was subsiding. Helena had given him almost a pint of blood now and she was still going.

"Helena, if you are doing what I think you are doing this is impossible. You are no longer human, Helena," Bob said raising his eyebrow at her.

"Bob, I feel strange but I am still me. This is just a better and improved me," Helena smiled. She was showing no discomfort from giving John now two pints of the alien blood within her and the child.

"I have a question," Victor said this while coming to sitting down on Helena's bed. Helena looked at him fondly. Victor was glad to see he was no longer in the doghouse.

"What do we do with John's blood?"

Helena had not thought of that. She remembered Milly and her pulse rate went up.

"We have to force his blood out," Bob said. Helena looked at him. He is right but if this thing backfires and I cannot give John an entire transfusion then he will die from the haemorrhage.

"Bob, if my hunch is right then we can do that but if it isn't what then, John will die," she said.

"He will die now if we don't. It's your call, Helena. Are you having any side effects so far?" Bob asked.

"No, no side effects," she said.

"Can you give him ten pints of blood?"

"No, but this blood must be able to replace itself; I am counting on that," she said.

Bob was doubtful. He also realized that this has not been a normal experience.

"We need to remove the blood. I will drain it through a catheter," Bob said going on the other side of John while signaling a nurse to assist him. They hurriedly found the biggest vein in John's leg and inserted a needle and conduits. He started bleeding John Koenig.

Victor stomach churned when he saw John's blood filling up the bag at the end of the catheter. The nurse removed them as they filled up. She handed them to an orderly who took them and placed them in a container. They would be taken to the blood bank later.

Bob was keeping an eye on Helena. The first sign of any distress and he would stop the transfusion. Bob noticed that John's blood volume was replacing itself faster than Helena could supply him.

Helena was right, this blood is reproducing itself.

Bob saw also that the alien blood was forcing John's blood out faster. The blood gushed in spurts and the speed increased. Bob monitored his vitals. John Koenig was now out of stasis and feeling no pain.

He was asleep but would awaken any minute now. Bob watched him for any other changes and his head went back and forth between John and Helena. The monitor jumped and Bob watched his normal sinus rhythm. He was stable. Bob relaxed.

John felt immense pain as he appeared in this new realm. The pain seared his mind and he felt as though his life was drained from of him. The pain was crippling. He could not move. John felt as though he were dying. As the pain eased, he completely emerged.

John Koenig found himself in a beautiful celestial city. The atmosphere was thick with excitement. He saw thousands of people milling about as he stood on the platform overlooking the coliseum. The auditorium was well lit, and creatures from all life forms and specie were there. Thousands more poured in from the open doors of the hall.

He looked to the left of him and saw a line of ten chairs to his right was another line of chairs. Generations of Koenigs sat on either side.

Helena Koenig stood beside him. She was regal in her aged beauty. She smiled at him but sensed that he was somehow different. His eyes were the same golden blue they had changed to all those centuries ago but they held a surprised glint.

"John?" she inquired.

"What year is this?" he asked.

"3037," she responded puzzled. John looked at her and saw that she looked to be about 55 years of age. Her platinum hair was all the way down to her feet and she had on a golden gown that hugged her hips and accentuated her slender body. John fell in love all over again, this time with the exquisite being she had become.

John remembered what Arra had said, "You will prosper and increase in new worlds, new galaxies." John extended his hand to her and she took it. She saw that same old glint in his eyes. John pulled her towards him. Her hair was silky with long silver strands. Her eyes were very expressive and her lips where open in surprise. He was dying to kiss her.

Helena looked into his eyes as he pulled her towards him. John knew she was his life long partner but he did not know it would have lasted for a century. He remembered Arra had said she had waited for them a million years.

Before John's lips reached hers, the exquisite creature that she was spoke. "John Koenig, what are you up to?" Her voice was musical and her eyes danced.

"I want to kiss you now," he said.

"You kissed me this morning. What has gotten into you?" She quarried.

"Shut up and kiss me," John smiled as he took her into his arms there in the coliseum. A cheer went up from the crowd as they observed them. Their family on either side of them looked on. They were use to these too kissing anywhere. After all these years, they were still madly in love.

John's hands went to the small of her back as the kiss intensified. John heard her groan and felt her clutch at him. She moved her body closer to him. John was in heaven. He had not remembered kissing Helena and it feeling like this before. He wanted to bed this ethereal creature right now.

John's tongue descended into her mouth. It tasted like honey. John felt himself fading out. "No, not now," he thought.

He opened his eyes to see Isaiah looking on. Isaiah said, "It is time."

John faded from sight.

John Koenig groaned. Helena looked over at him. He looked gaunt still but his color was improving. Helena had almost given John four quarts of her blood in the four hours she was there. Her blood was replacing itself and she felt fine.

"You were right, Helena, this blood is self-generating," Dr. Mathias observed.

Mathias checked the blood in the bag and realized this was the last bag. He stopped the flow as the golden blood started to flow in the tubes. Ben Vincent removed the needle from Helena's arm and removed Koenig's. The puncture on their arms regenerated and closed right before his eyes.

Dr. Vincent looked at Helena and realized she was different. She looked younger and almost surreal.

Helena hopped from the bed and stood over John Koenig. His eyes opened and she looked into his golden blue eyes. John saw what he had seen in the future, golden eyes flecked with green.

"Helena," he whispered. His voice was hoarse.

"Don't speak yet, John, let your throat adjust and moisten your pipes. Helena kissed him lightly on the lips. John Koenig smiled. He noticed the strands of silver hair at the tips of her honey blonde hair. He remembered the creature he had seen. She had really evolved into something of ethereal beauty and grace.

"Can you hear my thoughts?" Koenig's mind linked with Helena's, as he tried to reach her mentally.

"Yes, I can," Helena responded.

"I can read yours too," he smiled. Victor approached them and spoke to John.

"How do you feel?" John nodded his head that he was OK. Victor felt elated. Things could start settling down on Alpha once again.

Dr. Vincent checked his pulse and took his blood pressure reading. John was miraculously stable. "You are out of the woods, John," he said.

"Thanks, Ben," John responded. John was looking intensely at Helena.

"Why are you looking at me like that, John?" she asked smiling.

"I went 2,000 years into the future, Helena. We were still alive and looking no older than our late fifties," he said. Helena's eyes grew big in surprise.

"Did Isaiah say why he was doing this?" Helena asked.

"No, he said we would know ten years from now," John responded.

"Why in ten years?"

"I think something major is going to happen and he wants us to be prepared for it," John guessed. Bob came over and spoke to them.

"John, I am afraid your symptoms of pregnancy might not lessen. You are still going to feel queasy. I ordered some food for you. Make sure you eat every bite," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," John replied with a smile.

As Koenig's dinner arrived so did Paul Marrow and Tony Veredeschi. The entered the room grinning.

"We got a call right away from Dr. Spencer," Tony said. Helena moved off when the men came in to give John an update.

Bob took her in to do an ultrasound on the child. Helena welcomed a little normalcy at this time.

"John, we are going into orbit around that planet. We need to know if you are up to us going on a recognizance mission there." Paul asked.

John realized that the only people who knew what was going on in medical were Victor and the few medical staff present.

John sampled his dinner. Though he was still reeling from his experiences he was not hungry and in no mood to deal with Paul and Tony right now. He was tired.

John ate out of respect to the chef but he felt his stomach lurch. He watched Helena as Dr, Mathias placed her on the table. The curtains were drawn and his attention went back to the men. They were still talking and not noticing that he was not responding. John held his hand up and silenced them.

"Two days; give me two days to recuperate and I will join you. How many people know what's been happening here?"

"Just a few medical people and a few head staff members in Main Mission," Paul said.

"What do they know?" He asked.

"What do you mean, John? Just that you and Helena are having a difficult pregnancy, nothing more," responded Paul. Tony looked at Paul. He was beginning to wear on his nerves now. He thought he was the big cheese when John was out of commission. Tony was peeved.

"Great, how much do you know?" John asked.

"Is there more?" Tony responded.

"Well, Tony, Paul, let me briefly fill you in from my point of view. Victor," John beckoned to Victor and he came over, "you fill them in on the rest."

As John told them of their time travel and the places, he had seen Victor filled the pieces in between.

Helena sat half up in the bed as Bob prepared her to do an ultrasound. When he was ready, he sent for John. John came in, in a wheel chair and held her hand as they got their first look at their son.

Helena and John grinned from ear to ear. He was beautiful. As Bob moved, the sensors around they saw his head. "He is 7 mm crown to rump folks. He is more developed than expected. This child is advancing in every way," Bob noted.

John took Helena's hand and looked at the pictures on the screen in wonder. "Have you thought of a name for the little trouble maker yet?" Bob asked.

John and Helena looked at each other and smiled. It was sad that Milly had died but they had learned to roll with the punches. All they could think of was living in Milly's honor and raising this child as best they could special or not.

"Isaiah, we want to call him Isaiah," Helena said.

Mathias was taken by surprise. That was not one of the names he thought his friends would have chosen for their child. "Why Isaiah?" he asked.

Helena and John told him of the prophetic child they met. They already guessed that he was their unborn son. Mathias shook his head. Things could not get any more bizarre, he thought.

"Your son is developing at a faster rate than anticipated. I think its the blood. You might have a shorter gestation period, Helena," Mathias said whipping the gel from her stomach and freezing the picture on screen. He took Helena's comlock and downloaded the image for her. Helena smiled at this gesture from Bob.

Helena took her comlock and looked down at John in the wheel chair; he looked tired. She put her hand to his face and said, "Why don't you get some rest."

John agreed and she walked him back to the room. Tony Veredeschi was still there. She helped him into the bed as Tony watched. "What is it, Tony?" John asked.

"That planet, John, there is something strange about it. I have a funny feeling all is not as it seems.

"I will have a look in a few days, Tony. I need to rest." Tony got up from leaning against the compost and nodded as he moved off. Helena sat on the bed and John rested his head on her shoulders.

John found himself feeling less and less tired as the hours past. Instead of sleeping, John remained wide-awake. His tired feelings left him.

"Helena", John thought.

"Yes", she responded.

"I don't feel tired anymore, I feel like going home. What do you think? Do you think the worst is behind us?" He asked.

"No I think Isaiah knew that more was coming and this was the only way we could safely handle it. I think the future of Alpha will depend on who we are becoming," she said.

"I think from what I have seen it might be the galaxy that will be depending on us," he said. John Koenig gave his wife the details of his experiences without her. The kiss she received from him in the future unsettled her. She now knew why he had looked at her in that manner.

She spoke. "Do you think this planet has something to do with our present turn of events?"

"What did Kano say? A half of it was uninhabitable but we cannot access the other half. I think we should investigate it. We have come up on dead planets before that were not really dead," he said.

Helena nodded. They both lay there in a pensive mood. Eventually they slept. Mathias did not try to wake them as they slept for a good many hours into the next day. The orderlies separated them into different beds.

Mathias monitored them. He realized that they were sleeping in a kind of drugged state and surmised it was the fetus lulling them to sleep. They slept for two and a half days.

Dr. Vincent realized that John Koenig's features were regenerating itself as well as Dr. Russell's they were regressing back into their youth. Dr. Vincent took several pictures of their regeneration. Their organs and other vital organs were also affected.

Doctors Mathias, Vincent and Spencer studied the x-trays. They called Prof. Bergman who was in utter shock the Koenigs were changing internally and their features were looking at least ten years younger.

"How are we going to explain this to Alpha?" Bergman asked.

"Are they still John and Helena?" Questioned Ed.

"They seem to be to me," Bob responded.

"It's the blood," Victor added.

"Well, what do we do now?" Ed asked.

"I have no clue. They have to be told. Call Tony and Paul we need to have a meeting, when John wakes up," Bob said. They all agreed and the meeting ended. The doctors went back to medical to await the Koenigs.

Helena woke up and she was starving. One touch of her gentle hand and John was also awake. Bob sent for lunch for them and watched as they ate. They demolished two servings each. Bob apprised them of the situation and they both went to look at themselves in the mirror.

John was not happy. He wanted to alarm the Alphans as little as possible, but knowing Alpha, he wondered just how much would stay a secret and for how long. John agreed to a meeting.

They left for Main Mission and John and Helena went to their quarters to shower and change. Everyone was seated when the two came in. The change astounded them.

John and Helena Koenig looked to be thirty years old. They both looked as fresh as spring rain. The Commander took the head of the table and Helena sat at the other end. All eyes were glued to the Commander.

John looked at each of them in turn, to his right were Maya, Sahn, Tony, Ben, Kano, Paul to his left Victor, Bob, Alibe, Alan, Ed and Helena.

"Now I know you all have questions. More question than we probably have answers to. Some questions without a doubt we can answer but some we would not dare even to venture an answer. Let me just say that we are the same. The only change is physical. I know you all know Helena is pregnant with our son Isaiah. I also know you know this was not planned. Any questions so far?" John looked around the table questioningly. No one responded.

"OK, I will continue then. Helena and I are changing. Our DNA has been altered by the blood transfusion given to Helena by our son and given to me by her. This blood seems to have regenerative properties. This is why we look younger than we actually are. This does not alter our destiny with Alpha we are still a runaway moon in search of a planet and I am still your Commander. We will go to the planet we are orbiting and I intend that things will continue as usual," he paused to look at them.

"The past events I know have weighed heavily on your minds I know people have been restless and doubtful as to whether we would survive, but we have and we intend to fully return to our duties. Are there any questions?" John sat back in his chair and looked at them in turn.

"John, is there any indication that this physical change might affect your mind?" Tony asked.

John looked at Bob to field this one. Bob replied, "As far as we have seen, that is, the professor and I, this blood is not mind altering in any way."

The crew chewed on this response for a while as Paul asked a more pressing question, "When will we reconnoiter that planet?"

"Has computer come up with a name for her yet? During our information gathering have we any star charts that indicate which planet this is, Kano?" All eyes were now on Kano.

Kano pursed his lips; all this time he had been staring at Helena Koenig and doodling on a note pad. He could not understand what had happened but he liked the results. He would prefer to be immortalized any day. She was a beauty to behold. She was like a sculpture frozen in time. He looked at Koenig when he called his name.

"I found the name from some information we charted some years ago in another star system. Several star charts have matched up in fact. Information we gained from the Brian, and the Voyager matches, with that of the ship we surveyed a while back. This planet is called Synergy and it is the first in seven planets. All move in gravity around a giant inferno that is not unlike our sun but it is a kind of energy that does not seem to give off any harmful UV rays." Kano concluded by looking at Dr. Koenig who pretended not to notice the stares.

"So we reconnoiter tomorrow at 0700 hours. Any other questions," the hands shot up like rockets and John Koenig concluded that they were going to regal him with many questions. He felt it was inevitable and so he and Victor along with the medical crew answered the questions.

The meeting broke up after two hours of questioning and looking at their scans that Bob brought with him. The Koenigs headed for their quarters after this.

John and Helena entered. They had briefly seen it when they came in to take a shower earlier. John kept talking to Helena telepathically during the meeting. She kept silent most of the time and John kept checking to make sure she was OK.

He took her hand now as they entered the room. He had been starring at her all evening too. She was certainly becoming an eternal thing of beauty. Helena sat pensively in the chair. John sat beside her.

"So what do you think?" he asked.

"I think we are in for some turbulent times, but as long as I got you, babe, I am happy," she said. John smiled at this and took her hand. He kissed the back of it as he brought it to his lips.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you," she said.

"How's Isaiah doing?" he asked.

"Well, I feel stronger. Did he really say that we died?" she asked.

"Yes, and it felt like it to me. We have become like Arra."

"Yes, Arra. I had forgotten about her prophecy. I guess it is coming true," she said. John pulled her into his arms and ran his hand over her stomach.

"John, how was that kiss? I suppose it was better than kissing me. I suppose I should not be jealous, but I am, a little," she said pouting.

John Koenig realized too late that he had made a blunder. He was not feeling romantic at this moment. His stomach was queasy and he felt like throwing up. This morning sickness does not come only in the morning, he thought.

Helena laughed and he realized she had read him mind. He could keep very little from her now. He would have to develop the art of not thinking. Helena smiled. That should not be too hard, you are a man, she thought.

"Are you having fun at my expense?" he asked.

"Answer my previous question," she said raking her nails lightly across his back. Now John was getting aroused.

"Helena, we have more important things to consider,"

"Do not change the subject," she responded. John pulled her to him and kissed her briefly on the lips.

"It is always a pleasure to kiss you no matter how brief or what century we are in," he smiled.

"Good answer, John." She tweaked his nose as she said this. John Koenig felt as though he had warded off another disaster. He pulled her to him again and kissed her deeply this time.

When they parted he asked, "Do you want to come and explore the planet with us tomorrow and are you up for it?"

"Yes, are you?" she asked.

"Yes, my concern is for Isaiah as well," he looked on concerned.

"We are both fine. I will wear a wrist monitor and Bob can watch my vitals, OK."

"OK. Can we pass this blood on to the other Alphans?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"It was the stasis with a combination of our child and the limbo we were in. Any attempts to create this condition artificially could cause instantaneous death. We dare not chance it, John."

"OK." Koenig stood easily with her in his arms. She smiled up at him lovingly but his features changed as his morning sickness returned with a vengeance. He dropped her to her feet and headed for the bathroom.

Helena smiled as she heard her husband retching in the other room. She turned and went to order dinner.

THE END

* This installation is the last in the Amour series. A new saga will begin Planet-side.