I wipe at my mouth, and my finger comes away bloody. He’s letting me back in.
Henry turns his face back to the sky, and it seems like the light is washing him away, taking bits of man and leaving starlight behind.
I get up from my seat on the edge of the building with a new sense of urgency. I stop halfway to the elevator and concentrate on opening another portal. I can’t go into my past anymore because Zurvan will find me there. I can’t blunder around more chronothon memories because the other me has moved on from those. He’s contacting me from the future. I don’t know how to open a portal to there.
I stretch my mind, searching the darkness for him again. “Where are you, Ben?” I try to simply open a portal to wherever he is, but I see only fog on the other side. He’s somewhere with no definition.
Images flash though my mind. The fire temple. People striking me and holding me down. The smiling face of a synth. I get the image of Tucket Morris, the Academy student I met during the chronothon, walking though strange, crowded streets. Then I see a foil-wrapped bundle of tacos. The scenes make no sense.
Finally, the situation dawns on me.
He’s dreaming about his day. The other me is asleep.
I touch my lip again and feel the sticky blood between my fingers. Whatever he’s been doing today, he’s still alive. Still fighting. Looks like things aren’t going very well though. I study his dream imagery for any sign of Mym, some indication that she’s okay. Wherever she is, she’s not with him now.
Looking back toward the edge of the building behind me, I can still make out Henry, but just barely. He’s watching me. The firmament of color behind him still beckons, everlasting and magnificent. He looks ready for the leap into the beyond.
My memories may be murky by comparison, but they are the only place I know where to find her. For me that’s enough. I give a wave to my transparent friend. “I’ll see you later, Henry.”
“See you on the other side, Ben.” Henry salutes me.
Maybe someday. But not just yet. I concentrate on the connection with my other self and leap through the portal.
<><><>
St. Petersburg, Florida, 2165
I wake to beeping coming from the meta goggles on the nightstand. It’s a pinging noise like sonar, slowly increasing in volume.
“What? What do you want?” I fumble for the goggles from under the covers. Sometime during the night I must have wriggled my way deeper into the bed. I have no memory of that. Just strange, multicolored dreams. Something about an old man and an elevator.
The pinging increases its volume another notch. “I’m coming already.” I slide the goggles on and select the blinking yellow com button.
“What the hell are you up to, Travers?” Rixon’s voice fills my head in stereo sound.
“What? I’m . . . sleeping.”
“In another city. What part of ‘take one of the guest rooms’ did you not understand? How am I supposed to keep you safe if you go rogue and start wandering off at all hours of the night?”
“Sorry,” I mumble. I sit up and take in the hotel room. The far wall has turned itself into a view of rolling hills and distant bluish mountains. “What’s going on?”
“We have a problem. Get back here, pronto.”
I find my pants and slide them on. “What problem?”
“Your scientist found the spaceship. It’s coming into port today.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“No. Because it leaves today too.”
“Wait, what? The submarine isn’t supposed to be here till tomorrow.” I snatch up my shirt and shoes and start pulling on my socks. “I thought we had another day.”
“They played us. We think your girl may already be ashore. They could be moving her as we speak.”
“Holy shit. How?”
“Team meeting above the bar in five minutes. Get here.”
The com disconnects.
I struggle to process what he just said. Mym is already in Port Nyongo. What are they doing with her?
I hastily finish dressing and consult the time. Be there in five minutes.
I dial my chronometer for an hour into the past and put my hand to the wall.
I blink.
The lump of person in the bed doesn’t stir upon my arrival. He likewise continues to snooze when I open the door and slip out into the hallway. I ease the door shut quietly to let him sleep.
The gate to the temple is still closed when I depart the hotel. I’m curious what the Eternals thought of my departure last night, but I don’t stick around to ask. I take a whiff of the morning air and some part of me wants to just stand there and relish it. The sounds and smells of being alive. The feeling is so strong that I have to close my eyes and chastise myself. Get yourself together, Ben. We’ve got work to do.
I catch the morning train and, once aboard, I discover an out-of-service lavatory. I lock myself inside, then consult the timetable to just skip over the ride to St. Pete. When I unlock the door and step out, we’re pulling into the station. It’s a brisk walk to Rixon’s Bar. I dash up the stairs and pause at the top to consult my meta goggles for the time. Two minutes to spare.
When I round the corner, I find the common area filled with people. Doctor Quickly, Rixon, and Eon are all donning sleek-looking pressure suits. Noelle Chun is there too, already mostly dressed, and helping fit the doctor into his.
“Ben, glad you’re here,” Doctor Quickly says. He waves me in with a gloved hand. “We need to get you suited up.”
“What’s happening?” I take a few steps into the room and Eon tosses me the pants to a spacesuit.
“The ship you mentioned? The comet rider? It’s coming into port this morning. We think the Eternals are going to attempt to meet it when it arrives. It’s possible Mym will be on hand too. If so, it may be our chance to get her back.”
“Where is she? What happened to the submarine coming into port tomorrow?”
“It’s our fault,” Eon says. “We messed up and didn’t compare the heat signatures of the people on board here to the ones that left Cornwall. If we had, we would have noticed that they’re different. They pulled a switch on us. The sub that comes into port tomorrow is carrying the same number of people, but they aren’t the same ones that left England. The Eternals who left England must have come ashore either last night or this morning. Possibly via a customs boat. We shouldn’t have underestimated them. They must have known about the surveillance scanners we’ve been monitoring and used them to their advantage.”
“We don’t know why they’re meeting this starship,” Doctor Quickly says, “but if we mean to rescue Mym, we need to keep her from being taken into space. If they take her aboard, our rescue options vanish.”
“They’re going to use the ship to rescue Zurvan.” The words are out of my mouth without me thinking them. I go rigid as the voice keeps speaking from my mouth. “Zurvan sent the Eternals back in time to get a ship. They plan to rescue him.”
Doctor Quickly and Professor Chun are staring at me with interest. “How did you learn that?”
The voice in my head doesn’t answer this time. I’m left shell-shocked by this sudden turn of events. What the hell just happened? I’m standing rigidly still, suddenly aware that I am not the only person inside my head again. Doctor Quickly and the others are still looking at me, so I stammer out a response. “I, um, went to the temple in St. Pete. The temple the Eternals use. They gave a speech.” This is all technically true, even if it’s not the real source of the revelation I’ve just announced.
“They said they are using the ship to meet Zurvan?” Professor Chun replies.
“They said they found his body,” I reply. “I don’t really know what that means though.”
“Zurvan was an ancient Zoroastrian god,” Professor Chun says. “He’s a mythical figure. How could they have found his body?”
I’m still fishing around inside my mind, trying to figure out what to do next. I can feel him there now
, the other me. What are you doing here? I attempt to force him from my mind.
“Don’t shut me out!” The words spring from my mouth unannounced. “I can help!”
Rixon freezes in the act of tucking a gun inside the outer vest of his spacesuit and studies me. Eon likewise turns my direction. Every eye in the room is on me now.
“I mean . . . I’m ready to help with this . . . mission,” I mumble, trying to recover from my outburst.
“We assumed you would be part of it,” Professor Chun replies, her eyes narrowing. “Did you think we weren’t including you?”
Doctor Quickly is studying me intently. “Are you all right, Ben?”
“I’m fine,” I say, fumbling with the spacesuit pants in my hands. “Sorry. I just had a strange . . . I’m fine.” I begin donning the pants to have an excuse to not have to look anyone in the eye. “So what’s the plan? And where are Carson and Tucket?”
Why are you in my head?
My other self stays silent this time.
“We sent Carson down to the docks already this morning.” Eon replies. “He got selected for work detail yesterday, so there’s a good shot he will today, too. He’s carrying a bag of anchors that will get us onto the Skylift once he’s up there. He should be able to get us close to the elevator itself, and from there we can ride up to the space docks. We thought your other little friend was with you.”
“Tucket didn’t come home last night?” I say. “Shit. We need to find him.” I get a sudden wave of guilt for having left him in the synth bar. “He could be in trouble.”
“We don’t have time to organize a second search party at the moment,” Rixon says. “Bigger fish to fry. We need your head in the game.” He tosses me a helmet, followed by the torso section of my pressure suit. “Your boy Carson will be making contact soon from the Skylift. When your Lost Star shows up, we need to be in position.”
“Won’t we have time to prepare more once we’re up there? We could find a spot to jump back in time—”
“Not a big enough window to play with,” Eon replies. “Space dock security will be on us quick as it is. Whatever these Eternals are planning, it’s going to go down fast, and we won’t have enough room for a bunch of versions of us running around up there. Too many variables to keep straight.”
“Well, couldn’t we take the time now to make a plan and—”
“We have a plan. This is the plan.” Rixon throws me one of the boots for my suit, adding it to my growing bundle of clothing to put on. “Those of us who were actually around this morning got to make it.”
I frown at the boot, then slip it on over my shoe, hopping on one leg to balance. “Well then why didn’t you tell me to show up then? I could have—”
“It’s okay, Ben,” Doctor Quickly intervenes. “What Rixon likely means to say is that there wasn’t much for us to decide. Until we get up there, we honestly don’t have enough information about what the Eternals are going to do to know the best way to stop them. Once we get onto the Skylift, we’ll have to make fast, smart decisions. We most definitely need you with us to help with that.”
“I’ve made some contact with ASCOTT resources on the ground,” Professor Chun says. “My main goal is tracking the labyrinth weapon that was stolen and retrieving it, but I can call for more help if we need it. We’re not going in without options.”
I gather up the pair of gloves that go with my spacesuit and the other boot. “What about Mym? When we find her, how do we get her out?”
Rixon answers. “Everyone will be carrying anchors that will get us back to the jump space downstairs. As soon as we spot her, we grab her and jump her back here.”
“Okay, I’m gonna put the rest of this on in the bathroom,” I mumble, backing out of the room with my armful of spacesuit parts. I hobble down the hallway with one boot on and lock myself into the bathroom, tossing the clothing into the sink and staring at my reflection in the mirror.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”
My other self responds this time. “I’m trying to help. Don’t shut me out.”
It’s a bizarre feeling watching myself talk without being the one speaking.
“You made me seem crazy. Before. With Mym. You can’t just take control whenever you want.”
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t me. Look, I’m not trying to take control.”
Both of my hands go up in a palms out gesture, suggesting I stay calm.
“You’re doing it right now!”
“Shit, sorry,” my other self says. My arms drop back to my sides.
“How are you doing this? You used to just be in my dreams. How are you able to talk to me while I’m awake now?”
“I don’t know.”
“This is so weird. I don’t want anyone else—”
Someone pounds on the door. “Come on, Travers,” Rixon shouts. “Hurry up.”
“I’m coming!”
I mutter a few curses and wrangle myself into the pieces of the spacesuit. When I get the torso and gloves on, I point a finger at my reflection. “Listen, I’ll let you stick around, but I get control of my body. All right?”
“Yeah. Totally fine.”
“I mean it.” I wag a finger at the mirror, but then realize how ridiculous I look. I frown and grab my helmet, opening the door and heading back to the room with the others.
Everyone else is suited up now.
I look at Doctor Quickly. “Hey, how will we make jumps with spacesuits on?”
“Yes, you’ll need one of these.” Doctor Quickly hands me a small cylindrical piece of spacesuit with connections at both ends. It has a flexible, transparent window built into it. “Install that on your wrist over your chronometer before you attach the glove. It’s harder to make precise movements through the membrane, but you’ll be able to do it.”
I push my left sleeve up a bit and install the extra piece over my wrist. Being able to see the chronometer through the transparent rubber window makes me feel a lot better. If things go south, I won’t have to depressurize the suit to get to it.
Eon steps over to me and checks the security of my suit. He taps on a panel on my chest. “If you fall off the Skylift for some reason, there’s a buoyancy pack in the back. Sensors in the suit deploy it automatically if you achieve terminal velocity, or you can pull this handle out to deploy it manually. Uses a compressed off-world gas called bollite. Mixed with oxygen, it’s over a hundred times more buoyant than helium. It’ll keep you from going splat if you go over the side for some reason.”
“You think we might fall off the Skylift?” I get a sudden queasiness and have to remind myself that I’ve been in worse situations before.
“Pays to be prepared,” Eon says. “One shot deal though. If you deploy it, get back on the ground and jump back here. Don’t go messing around up there without one. It’s a long way down.” He hands me two small spools of cable attached to miniature harpoons and a gun device to fire them. “If we make it up to the spaceport, we’ll be in zero G. Buoyancy pack won’t be necessary up there, but you can still drift off if you end up outside the station for some reason. You can use this to reel yourself back in to the structure in an emergency. It’ll also work as an anchor cable in a pinch if you need to make a jump.”
I take the mini grappling gun and attach it to my suit. “That’s pretty sweet.”
“Better aim well, though. If you miss, you’ll be left floating in orbit.”
“Not excited to do that again,” my other self mutters.
“No kidding,” I reply.
“What did you say?” Eon asks.
“Nothing.” I point to one of the two guns attached to Eon’s spacesuit. “Do I get one of those blaster things?”
“Security on the Skylift is tight, and you’ll be flagged immediately if you’re carrying stun weapons without proper credentials. If I can, I’ll get you one once we’re inside.”
“Stun weapons?”
“No lethal ordinance gets on the Skylift, law enfor
cement credentials or not.”
Doctor Quickly tells me to put on my meta goggles and Professor Chun pulls up an image in the metaspace of the top of the spaceport. She scans over the area where the Skylift tethers pass through the spaceport on their way out to the counterweight in orbit. “Only one way up or down from the port. That’s using these elevator tether cables and the climbers. Everybody gets off at the same point. If the Eternals are headed up, they’ll have to pass through the same terminal as everyone else. We should be able to spot them before getting on the climbers, but if not we’ll definitely catch them on the top end. I spoke to customs and we know which dock the ship will be berthing in.”
Using a satellite camera, she zooms out into space and focuses on an image of the ship we’re looking for. It’s a huge sphere resembling a miniature planet slowly approaching Earth. The outside has been burnt and pockmarked, but it looks incredibly durable.
The Lost Star.
“We’ve identified the inbound ship as a Starfire class frigate.” Professor Chun says. “It’s registered with Interspace Customs, but the contact information is all private. We don’t know who is on board.”
“We do have a theory about how it moves, however,” Doctor Quickly adds. “It’s ingenious really. We believe that they may be using the comets as anchors to get around space. It’s possible that they’ve found some way to secure themselves to the comet and jump forward or backward in time to different points in the comet’s life. Doing so would give the ship incredible range, especially if it can do the same thing using interstellar comets.”
“You mean the entire spaceship is able to time travel?” I ask.
“And everyone on board,” Doctor Quickly replies. “Whoever they are, they may be the most advanced time travelers we’ve ever encountered.”
“Aliens?” I ask.
“The ship is registered as being from Earth,” Professor Chun replies. “We don’t think they’re from off-world, but we won’t know till we meet them.”
A com crackles inside the helmet I’m holding. Carson’s voice comes in over the speaker. “Anchors are in place. Ready for you guys.”
In Times Like These Boxed Set Page 153
