by Justin Sloan
“You should probably reserve final judgment on that until you know what I’m going to do next.”
“Oh dear.”
Bentley closed his eyes. And opened them to three-dimensional solar system room. “Let’s take this puppy for a spin,” he said.
“I’d like to remind you that this is your physical body you are about to put at risk,” Indred said, with condescension in her tone. “Not to mention, it is my physical container as well.”
“Yeah, yeah, but come on. What’s the good in having all this if we don’t have a little fun with it?”
“Surprisingly, and despite being able to sync with your thoughts, I have no idea what you’re about to do to us.”
“Trust me. You’re gonna love this.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
“There,” Bentley said, as he pointed at a stream of solar winds around the upper atmosphere of the blueish star. “That’s where we’re going.”
“What for?”
“To have a little fun.”
The ship veered left and swooped toward the solar winds. It took only seconds to get in close. A shading layer lowered over the viewer screens. And Bentley aimed directly for the largest wave he could spot.
“I feel obligated to warn you for your safety and mine that solar winds can reach up to one million miles per hour,” Indred said.
“Even better,” Bentley said.
“Dear god,” Indred said. “I’ve been paired with a thrill seeker off his hinges.”
“I resemble that remark, since, apparently, I actually have hinges now, so are you ready for this or not?”
The ship began to rock as they came in closer to the solar wind wave. Even through the protective layer, the heat of the star’s corona was so hot that not only could the star’s gravity not contain it, but Bentley could feel the heat. “That burns.”
“That’s not because it’s getting through our outer hull,” Indred said. “You’re feeling it directly. The outer hull is part of your body now. It would serve you well to keep that in mind.”
“Don’t be a buzzkill. I’m willing to bet this is the coolest thing you’ve ever done.”
“Got me there.”
The ship jolted back and forth as they were caught up in the wave. As they steadied into alignment with the flow of the solar wind, Bentley let out a whoop. “Hell yeah!” They soared up and curved outward. Through the rocking back and forth and full throttle thrust, everything was a blur, and Bentley let go of the controls. Their propulsion was so fast that they flung out of the solar wind wave at its peak and launched out of the solar system like a slingshot.
“Nice,” Bentley said, as the turbulence came to a stop and they settled into a smooth and easy coast. “I could get used to this.”
“Actually,” Indred said. “What were you saying about being pulled out of your real timeline and wanting to go back? I think I can try and make that happen.”
“Never mind that,” Bentley said. “We’ve got a good thing going here.”
“Matter of perspective, I guess.”
Bentley unlatched his belt and imagined himself floating. His projection of his body obeyed and he began to drift. “Oh yes, so much better. Come on, Indred. Let loose. Get into a body projection and enjoy your senses. You were so intent on using that to convince me.”
“Hang on. I need to check the return policy on my human model,” Indred said. “Unfortunately, no returns.”
“Relax, it’ll be fine. Now come on, get into the spirit.”
Silence filled the ship for a solid thirty seconds, making Bentley a little uncomfortable. He began to worry that there might be some kind of failsafe where he could be shut off.
But then, a faint silhouette of a person appeared several feet away. At first, it was blurry and a little amorphous. Then it formed fully, and before Bentley was a striking and tall woman with infinite eyes that pierced right into him. And her skin tone was a reddish, orange color, like a star’s corona.
“Damn,” Bentley said. “You picked well.”
“My body is not a choice of mine. It was formed as my neural networks were being–”
Bentley put his finger on her lips. “Shh. Just, you know, don’t ruin the moment.”
“Um,” Indred said. “I’m not into you like that. It would be like satisfying yourself.”
Bentley shrugged. “I’m okay with that.”
“Of course you are.” She strode right past him, not at all ashamed of her nakedness, which made Bentley smile. Until he looked down and saw that he was naked now too.
“Hey,” he said.
“Fair is fair,” Indred said.
“True,” he said, and raised his eyebrows. “But if you didn’t get into your body to have fun, why did you?”
“To repair the damage to the inner parts of our home that you so callously caused with your joyride.”
“Oh. Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Totally worth it, though. I mean, are you telling me you didn’t get a thrill out of that?”
Indred took her time responding, as she went about swiping away portions of Bentley’s projection of the ship’s interior, revealing mechanical and plasma innards.
Bentley’s mind went back into his thoughts for a second, and he visualized a whole battlefield being torn to bits. And the word, ‘Syndicate’ popped into his mind. “Syndicate?”
“The least of your worries,” Indred said.
“Are they still around? Did they annihilate us? Did we defeat them?”
“Define ‘defeat.’”
“Why do you have to be so cryptic?”
“I’m not. Your brain just isn’t as big as mine. It’s nuanced what happened. All you need to concern yourself with right now is that there are entire species and planets out there that want to destroy humanity, as well as all A.I. creations. The Universe has opened up to Earth, and while that may sound like a good thing, it’s not that different from you exposing us to the solar winds. The Universe is aware of us now. And that’s not always a good thing. Entire planets find us threatening, especially A.I.”
Bentley’s next words were muffled under a forced cough. “Buzzkill.”
Indred stopped what she was doing and glared over her shoulder. “Go to sleep.”
“I’m not in the mood.”
“It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a directive.”
With that, Bentley’s eyes drooped, and he felt himself slide into a comforting cocoon-like sleep that he found himself welcoming. And just like that, he was out.
Once Bentley had stilled, Indred returned to fixing the parts of the ship that had suffered overheating and burn damage. Mostly, it was circuitry that hadn’t been built for such speeds or temperature levels. She was going to have to remedy that if her home was now going to be piloted by a loose cannon. Not like she really had a choice in the matter. But even if she did, although she would never admit it to him, she did enjoy the uncertainty of his thrill ride. Something hard to come by for an A.I. Her whole existence had been one expected and predictable moment after another, as was logical. But this was different. “It was exhilarating,” she said, and found herself turning to gauge Bentley’s response. But his projected body was out cold. Indred frowned and went back to work. They had a recon mission to complete, and at least one of them needed to be responsible.
KYLE Noe
AS A MARINE, I was an Intelligence Analyst for Light Armored Reconnaissance. While at the FBI, I mostly worked counterintelligence, espionage, cyber warfare, and nonconventional cases that required a different way of looking at threats that defied traditional investigation. Eventually, I left the FBI to go to grad school for writing and have since co-created a TV show for Sony Studios and Barry Josephson.
AND I’M PERSONALLY PASSIONATE about creating stories because I want to recreate the moments I experienced that were harrowing, comedic, and personal for others in a way that you can enjoy the excitement of them without being swallowed up by them.
I VALU
E FEEDBACK A GREAT DEAL, and you can reach me at http://twitter.com/bookrumors and http://facebook.com/bookrumors
AUTHOR NOTE
WHEN I SET out to write a time travel loop, initially, it felt wrong to tell a story that had already been told. What I mean by that is I didn’t want to only tell a story of someone going back into the past. What excited me was the chance to use time travel as a leaping off point for a character to find himself in an unfamiliar past or future and as a different person. I knew that pulling that off would be a challenge, but I felt the passion to tell the story about a special individual who would be thrown into challenges he wasn’t already equipped to deal with. A new world. A world in which he would find that what he thought he cared about turned out to be different once he knew more about the widening Universe. Finally, I made the decision not to be afraid of falling short. Time is valuable, but failure and success mean more when you’re fighting for what you’re passionate about. With that in mind, three characters came to life over night, and the story was complete in one sitting. One of those three characters doesn’t even play a role in the short, because she’s in a hibernation chamber at this point, but her story becomes vital once the spinoff trilogy begins.
THE SECOND THING that really drove this story for me was being able to tell it in a way that my nieces and nephews would enjoy as much as any adult. I wanted to create an adventure that was both dangerous and fun. A story that could hold their attention. With that in mind, I went in a more playful direction. And I truly hope you enjoy coming along on the adventure! Because I’m enjoying the heck out of writing it.
ALL BEST,
Kyle
BACK AT THE MOUNTAIN
BY JUSTIN SLOAN
Giovanni remembered the jolt that had come, and the way the motion of time travel was unlike anything he had ever felt. Eyes closed, he imagined colors swirling, space imploding—he imagined it all, and then the ship slammed to a stop…or so he thought.
The notion that he was still on the ship vanished the second his nostrils took in the scent of jungle air, fresh from a recent rain. A damp back confirmed this, and when he opened his eyes he saw large leaves overhead, blocking out the moonlight. He wasn’t strapped into the time ship, he was lying on his back on the moist jungle floor.
Had it worked?
Groaning in pain, he pushed himself up and glanced around, hoping to spot Quinn or the others.
From what he could tell, he was alone in the jungle…nothing more. But as he stood and moved to the edge of the small hill he found himself on, he pushed leaves aside and caught his breath—the mountain where it had all started, where he had been with Quinn, Milo, and the others, was right in front of him, completely intact. Lights shone from where Marines were at work, preparing the defense. The Syndicate had destroyed all that, which meant they had gone back to nearly a year before, to the days before the invasion.
Why now? Why here?
None of it made sense, but he figured he had to be here, and at this moment in time, for a reason. Instead of just standing there making his brain hurt, he worked his way down the hill and started toward the mountain. At first it was slow and calculated, searching for the others who had been on the time ship with him. If he was here, they had to be too, right? A sudden realization hit him that he had no idea how the time ship really worked—none of them did. His throat caught and his mouth went dry at the idea of him being out here all alone. No Quinn…No Luke.
He couldn’t take it anymore, and pausing to ensure he saw no enemy around, began calling out for the others in a muted shout.
“Quinn?” he hissed as he slid partly down the hill, catching himself on a tall palm, which cut his hand.
“Dammit, Cody? Milo?” He kept on, pulling his hand up to suck at the blood before realizing he was doing it. A glance down at himself showed that he was wearing black fatigues and boots, so he used his undershirt to wipe away the rest of the blood.
He could never really stand Milo, but at this moment, hell, he’d even be happy to see that son of a bitch.
It wasn’t the people on the time ship he was looking for, he reminded himself, but the Marines who had been with him on the day of the invasion. This had to be that day, because he didn’t think that sort of activity would’ve been going on at the mountain before that. Stocking it up and preparing the defenses, sure, but nothing like what he was seeing right now.
If that was true though, he realized as he thought back to that day, he and the crew wouldn’t arrive yet. They would still be out at that ridge, Quinn giving her impassioned speech while the Gunny watched like a little bitch. That had always bothered Giovanni—the fact that the Gunny let Quinn take charge so often. If it had been about training her or something like that, he could buy it. But he didn’t think it was that at all. Everyone knew how the Gunny’s wife had been back before the invasion. They knew she was sleeping around, screwing two other Marines, and they all knew that he knew.
So when it came to women and authority, the Gunny just got walked all over. At least, that was Giovanni’s opinion of it. Women were cool in his book, but they were just the same as any other Marine. Treat them with respect for who they are, not what they have between their legs.
Of course, he couldn’t say he was so strong when it came to Luke. Part of him screamed out that everything between them had happened because the man was so perfect. A perfect soldier, a perfect lover. All of it.
But another part of him, a niggling voice in the back of his head, said that maybe he had put the man on a pedestal just as the Gunny did to every hot pair of tits that came his way.
With a sigh of exhaustion mixed with frustration, Giovanni lowered himself over a small cliff. The drop was longer than he’d anticipated, so he had to roll with the decline and catch himself with a foot planted against a tall tree to break the impact. The resulting jolt sent a shot of pain up his leg, and when he tried to stand he realized he had twisted his ankle at an odd angle. Though it hurt when he tried rotating it, he was fairly certain it wasn’t sprained.
What a piece of work he was, he thought as he limped forward, bloodied hand pressed tight to his undershirt.
“Anyone?”
Gunfire sounded in the distance and he froze. That wasn’t right. If this was the night before the invasion, who the hell would be firing? It had to be practice, he told himself and continued on.
A second later, more gunfire, then an explosion lit up the night and he could hear men and women shouting. Not far off in the jungle, a full assault was in progress. His guess, based on the direction of the sounds and the way it was moving, was that their target was the mountain base.
How the hell could this have happened without him hearing about it? Unless…it was someone he had traveled back in time with? He had to admit that he didn’t know everyone who had been on the time ship. Interacted with at some point, sure, maybe. But know them?
It wouldn’t be out of this world to consider the possibility that someone had sent them here for the express purpose of rallying up the resistance to take the mountain.
Or maybe he was witnessing the events that had led the resistance to take over the tunnels as they had that day? That little fact still bothered him to this day.
But regardless of all that, he couldn’t fathom how he wouldn’t have heard about it, so he figured this had to be one of his time-traveling companion’s doing.
Was that how time travel worked? Maybe when you go back and change things they start to make sense second time around?
He scoffed at himself, wondering how the hell he could ever even begin to comprehend time travel. It wouldn’t happen, so he shook it off and moved on. The best he could do now was figure out what was happening, and either support it or put a stop to it, depending on which side made the most sense.
If this was the resistance…well, knowing how that would go and that he would actually become a member of them and meet Luke during that time, he couldn’t exactly go in there and kill them all off like a damn ni
nja.
But he wouldn’t attack his fellow Marines either…so he was in a bit of a quandary.
Just get in there and save as many lives as possible, without getting killed in the process, he told himself. That made the most sense.
So he ducked down, making sure he kept a low profile in the night as he ran toward the action. He was almost there, he figured, when someone plowed into him. The man’s face was covered in dirt, blood on one side, and his eyes wild as he threw Giovanni back, reached for the closest rock and paused with it held in the sky, about to bring it down hard.
His war-cry was cut short though, as he blinked, looking at Giovanni.
“Gio?” the man said, tilting his head. “Holy shit, I thought we’d lost you.”
Then it hit him—the hair was different, the dirt and blood like a thick mask, but underneath all that, this was definitely Luke staring back at him. Tossing the rock aside, Luke fell down on top of Giovanni, cradling him, kissing his cheek, then his lips, and then pulling back as gunfire sounded not far off.
“Come on, they caught us trying to infiltrate their hideout,” Luke said, standing and pulling Giovanni by the hand. “We have to move, pronto!”
Giovanni ran along, questions spinning in his mind. Whose hideout? The Marines? The resistance? If he had his timing right, Luke wouldn’t have known him yet, and still would have been a resistance fighter who hated the Marines.
So what was this?
They made it to a clearing and then hesitated, glancing back. Luke’s eyes penetrated Giovanni, his stare so hard it was likely to shoot right through him.
“How the fuck did you survive that?” Luke finally asked. “I mean, I saw them shooting, I went for you, and then the explosion.” He shook his head in bewilderment.
“Lucky, I guess,” Giovanni replied, unable to think of any other way through this. “What’s the next move?”
“We have to reconnect with home base and teach those sons of bitches a lesson.” He stared at Giovanni again, as if seeing a ghost, then pulled him in for another kiss followed by a long hug, head on his shoulder. “I really thought I’d never see you again. You’re actually here, right? Not just some ghost or something?”
