THE RELIANT: DARK HORIZONS

BOLA

The door to Captain Yager's office opened.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?"

"Yes, Bola, come in." The being known as Bola came into John's office. After the door closed, John said, "Please, sit down."

"Thank you, Captain."

The being known as Bola sat down in front of John's desk. It had been almost two weeks since the transporter accident that caused the creation of Bola. Bortis and Tamala had transported down to the planet of Titer to locate a dangerous convict who had managed to escape Alliance custody by the name of Kapik Gurchok who had been located on Titer in the town of Subbereth. While they were down there, a sudden ion storm started to form above the town. Since ion storms were known to interfere with transporter bands, John decided to transport Tamala and Bortis back to the ship using emergency transport. However, when they were transported back to the ship, Tamala and Bortis didn't show up but rather another being. He was tall like Bortis and had green-tinted skin similar to Tamala. At first, John believed ship's pilot Zack had made a mistake and beamed up the wrong person due to interference caused by the ion storm. However, after a thorough examination by Doctor Booth, it was revealed that the being was in fact Bortis and Tamala. Amanda informed John how the ionization from the storm had somehow fused their DNA together during transport and formed one being. When John inquired if they could be safely separated, she said she wasn't sure and would have to investigate further.

That was nearly two weeks ago. Since then, the being had acclimated himself to life aboard the ship. He had taken over the duties of both Tamala and Bortis, and had even given himself the name of Bola. When John asked why he chose that name, he said it was a combination of the names Bortis and Tamala. It was like Bola was becoming a regular member of the ship. Then Amanda told him she may have found a way of safely separating Bortis and Tamala, but that would mean Bola would cease to exist. And that was why he had called Bola into his office.

"I guess you know why I called you into my office," John said to Bola.

"I believe so, Captain."

"Doctor Booth tells me she may have found a way to bring back Tamala and Bortis."

"I'm sure you will be happy to have your shipmates back, Captain."

"Well, yes, I would, but that would pose one major problem."

"And what would that be, sir?"

John let out a deep sigh. "That would mean your demise, Bola."

"I do not see the problem, Captain. I am not supposed to be here."

"Whether or not you're supposed to be here isn't the issue, Bola. The fact is you're here."

"I still fail to see what the issue is here, Captain."

John let out another sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "You know Tamala once asked me what led humans to explore space. I told her that humans have always had a strong desire to explore, which is what led us to eventually explore the far reaches of space, to see whether we're alone in the universe. One of our main goals in the exploration of space is to find new sentient life forms. And you, Bola, are the very definition of a new sentient life form. And to destroy that, to destroy you, would not only go against our very reason for being out here and the very principles of the Alliance, it would also be cold-blooded murder."

"And you have an issue with that."

"In this case, yes, I do."

"But, if you don't bring back Tamala and Bortis, wouldn't you also be committing their murder, Captain?"

He nodded. "Yeah, maybe. But, the way I see it, you have every right to your life as they have to theirs."

"I can see your dilemma, Captain. If you order me to go through with the Doctor's procedure, I will do as you command."