by Claire Davon
“I’m sure you analyzed the tablet before giving it to me,” Fiona said.
Sonder growled. “Illiria, you had no right.”
“I had every right,” the woman said, still calm. Rogald edged closer. “All of our lives are at stake. So while your girlfriend goes fluttering around, we are working to save the world. Yes, Fiona, I know what powers you have, and I am grateful to you for fixing New York, but you still don’t take this seriously enough.”
“Stop right there,” Sonder said and moved to block Fiona. “Do not speak of my fiancée that way.”
Illiria arched an eyebrow. “Fiancee? You jumped to your original time so you could propose? You’re as bad as she is.”
“Enough,” Rogald said. “Were you able to get anything out of the pictures?”
Without prompting, Fiona tilted the tablet onto its stand and pulled up the images. They were similar to the one Sonder had, only taken from different angles. All appeared to be of the San Francisco area, although it was hard to tell. Without the Golden Gate as a point of reference, they would have blended together in their blowing dirt and covered mounds. Armageddon had a similarity to it, Fiona thought, a sameness in the death of the world.
“Did I take the picture Sonder had, that Rogald had?” Fiona asked, suddenly weary. “Is this all one great big time loop?”
Illiria hesitated and nodded.
“Yes. We found it in these images. It’s the same. You took it, Fiona, or Sonder did. There’s no question.”
Sonder swore. “I thought it was the Commander. I thought it would be a clue.”
“They are clues, but he didn’t take them. Look here,” she said, pointing a finger at one as Fiona scrolled through. Fiona stopped at the picture. It wasn’t the one Sonder had, but it was similar. Featureless forms of what may have once been buildings, lumps in the desolate landscape, and the Golden Gate, at a different angle this time, destroyed and rusting, soon to collapse into the water.
Sonder frowned. “They are all at different positions, but nothing can survive long. Even with spacesuits. Technology exists in my time that would make it easier, exosuits are much less bulky than they are today, but this is still an impossible climate. Not to mention the tablet would be destroyed.”
Illiria nodded. “That leads us back to the compound under San Francisco. A jumper, with the right coordinates, could use that compound as a base. It will survive…this…” she pointed to the picture. “From what we know of the underground area, it is vast and fortified. It will endure, when the Earth does not.”
“We still can’t get there. We would be blocked by the barrier.”
“Sonder, there is no need for me to point out the obvious and I don’t know why you are being obtuse. Fiona can. Fiona has. Therefore, we all can, if we are with her.” She looked at Rogald. “Rogald was with her. We can do this.”
Sonder looked furious, but said nothing.
Fiona hesitated, looking at the picture. “She’s right,” she said, and Illiria gave her a startled look. “I’m a little freaked out that future me, or future Sonder took pictures and gave them to present Illiria to give to me but I should be used to such things by now. We have to use it, and I guess we did use it, or future me wouldn’t have sent them back to present me. God, you could go crazy thinking about this.” She tapped the tablet. “I’m ready.” As I’ll ever be.
#
Rogald turned on the show in question, the one that had prompted the military to shut down access to the underground compound, and they watched it in silence. It didn’t tell them much, an excited host talked about the various installations, but it gave them many references. Fiona took screenshots of the facilities, and Illiria and Rogald had already committed the points to memory.
“It gives us everything we need,” Sonder said, looking up from his belt. It beeped and he glanced at Illiria. “Thanks,” he said.
Fiona shot him a look.
“She downloaded the images for my use,” he said.
She would never like Illiria, but she did respect the woman. Without her, Rogald would have been killed by the Commander in Santorini. The Commander had to be insane to be trying to protect the outcome leading to the Event. She was still finding it hard to fathom why a person dedicated to preserving things would have gone so far off the tracks. Without Illiria and Rogald they might have taken a long time, too long, to figure out how to harness Fiona’s ability to affect the time stream to their benefit. The time anomalies the Voice had shown her were part of current history, but the Event could not be allowed to stand. Humanity would be destroyed, along with all life on the planet. It was madness for the Commander to favor that idea over letting Fiona and the small gang try and fix it.
“Do we have enough to get in and look around? Maybe we’ll get lucky and catch a Commander.” Fiona wasn’t hopeful that would be the case, but it never hurt to hope.
“We have plenty,” Rogald said. “I propose Illiria and Fiona scout it out, while Sonder and I make preparations here.”
Fiona looked at the Liberator in surprise. “Why?”
“One Liberator and one Guardian stay behind. One Guardian and you, the Traveler, go scouting. We are working together, but we are not allies in all things. You have the power to get her out if the Commander comes around without using a belt, which gives you more mobility. Illy and I talked about this and it makes the most sense.”
“You didn’t ask us,” Sonder growled. “I’m not letting Fiona out of my sight.”
“Guardian,” Rogald sighed, “you were always a bit of a caveman. We have to get provisions, get ready to stay down there. We will be doing the heavy lifting while they are exploring tunnels. Dark, cold tunnels. With no light.” He grinned at Illiria, who winked back.
She didn’t like it, but Fiona saw the wisdom in it.
“I guess it works,” she said. She looked at the man who had just asked her to marry him, if he survived. He would survive. She said it like a mantra, hoping if she repeated it enough it would be reality.
“I don’t like it,” Sonder growled again. “It’s not safe for her.”
“Good god, Sonder, I thought men from the future were supposed to be more civilized than that,” Illiria spat. “You never had a problem following orders.”
“That was different,” he insisted. “That wasn’t the woman I loved. Orders are one thing. I have no issue taking them, and the sex of the person in charge makes no difference. But they’re not the people I love. I have few enough of those. Whatever the outcome of this, Fiona must be kept safe.”
Rogald opened his mouth, and closed it. He looked first at Sonder, then Illiria, then Fiona and back to Sonder. Fiona couldn’t make out his expression. Respect? There was something mixed with it, but she went with respect.
“You have my word the Liberators will do everything in our power to protect the Traveler,” he said, his voice solemn. “She is what we have been waiting for.”
Fiona was surprised he spoke for the Liberators. Improving the time stream, as they preferred to refer to their attempts, would go hand in hand with her rogue powers. Protecting it, as the Guardians did, was the antithesis. Once again she wondered what would have happened if she’d fallen in with the Liberators instead of the Guardians. In that scenario, the Commander might have never known she existed until it was too late.
Then she never would have met Sonder. Things worked out the way they were supposed to.
YES.
The Voice boomed through her. It had been quiet for a while, and she had begun to think it no longer felt it needed to communicate with her. Fiona put her hands to her ears. She wasn’t sure how much it-they-could hear, but she didn’t like it.
IT IS HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE.
Sonder looked at her with a quizzical look. He knew about the Voice, of course, they all did, but he didn’t hear it. The only person who heard it was her. An unkind person might say she was hearing things and going crazy.
“I am fine with Illiria and I scouting whil
e you guys get whatever you think we need to do this ready. You can do the pack mule bit while we do the spy bit.” She wrinkled her nose at Sonder.
“It is what we agreed,” Illiria said. “The Guardians and the Liberators share this, but we don’t work together easily. Despite my affiliation with Rogald.”
That must make for interesting bed time conversation, Fiona thought, not for the first time. Both seemed so dedicated to their ways of thinking and it still surprised her these two were lovers. She supposed it was a little like the two polarized political parties of her time. A couple with diametrically opposed time views might be trying to navigate a relationship through that minefield.
Rogald tapped his own tablet. “I think these are the best coordinates. Illy, Sonder and I will go shopping. The credit card should work in this era. We will meet you here,” he said, pointing to a large wall with obvious graffiti. “At this time.” He indicated a time and year and they both nodded.
“Okay,” Fiona said, her mouth dry. “Let’s do this.”
#
“There’s something I want to show you,” Illiria said as they crossed the busy street. “It would mean we’d have to return to my base.”
“No,” Fiona said. “No base. Not without Sonder.” The base was too far away for her powers to be able to get her back to this time frame. After all she had been through she was convinced that was why the bases were set so far away. No human, no matter how skilled, could reach them under their own power.
Illiria looked angry, and shrugged.
“Up to you,” she said.
“Illiria, I should have asked Rogald this, but maybe you know. Their base on Mars, can they see Earth? Do they know what it looks like a million years from now?”
Illiria frowned, and shook her head. “No. We can’t get of our base and neither can they. They’re underground and sealed. It makes sense for Mars, with its thin atmosphere, but ours is on Earth. They’re self-contained units.”
“Too bad,” Fiona mused. “It would have been nice to go there and see what the Earth looks like from Mars.”
“Your boyfriend has pictures,” Illiria said, and Fiona looked at her in surprise. “Of Earth from Mars. There was a mission, and a manned spaceship got there. They tried to set up a base but there were too many obstacles. No water. The air is too thin and it was far too expensive. They came home. The world was united for a time. Ask Sonder next time you go to his house. He should show you pictures.” Illiria almost smiled. “You’ll be disappointed. From Mars Earth looks like another big star.”
Fiona flushed, wondering how much Illiria knew about their time in his house.
“I’d like to see those,” she persisted. “Illiria, what time do you come from?” Maybe if she tried to get to know the woman Illiria wouldn’t dislike her so much.
They dodged passengers as they got on the BART. They were going to scout out the bunkers from this time, above ground first, before wasting time frames by jumping into them. Better to have as many references as possible before attempting the jump. Empty bunkers or not, they might hold the clue to saving the world.
“There’s no need for curiosity, Traveler,” Illiria said, grasping a strap and holding onto it. “We work together, but we are not friends.”
Fiona nodded. “You’re right, we’re not, but you know a lot about me and I know nothing about you. I know more about Rogald. We’re a team, for now. I want to know.”
Illiria studied her for a long time. The rocking of the BART train was similar to the trolleys back home and Fiona discovered she hadn’t lost her talent for subways. She barely touched the pole designed to aid commuters in standing. Illiria gripped it hard, trying to keep her balance on the lurching train.
One point for me, Fiona thought and felt ashamed. Illiria was battle trained, an expert time jumper, and skilled in many more useful things than Fiona was.
They got to their stop and disembarked, pressing out of the car with the few stragglers who emerged with them. Illiria pointed a direction and they began walking.
“We can discuss it on the way, if you are curious,” Illiria said. “Rogald and I found a skateboarder who gave us a location. It’s a hike, but you are in better shape than you were when we found you. Nothing is far away in San Francisco.”
Fiona flushed at the insult. Anger made small dots of red dance around her vision. She whirled on Illiria, stopping them on the sidewalk on the side of a steep hill. People cursed when she came to an abrupt halt and began to flow around them, some shooting them dirty looks.
“You’re right, Illiria, I wasn’t in the best shape when I found out I had time skills. Sonder and I did some training, but I’m not like you. I’m not battle hard and ready for anything. I haven’t had years in the Guardians to hone my body and my time travel skills. I’ve had a few months, and that’s it.” She looked at Illiria. “Tell me, Illy,” she said, purposely using the nickname she’d heard Rogald use for her, “when you became part of the Guardians, were you combat ready? Did you know how to fight? How to use the devices? How to jump? Did you whisk into the base, full of knowledge, ready to lead a team into Guardian world, saving and protecting the time stream? Or did you have to learn? Did someone have to teach you, and be your mentor, until you knew what to do? Did they? Did you?”
She put her hands on her hips. Fiona vowed once they were done she would never speak to Illiria again, but they had a job to do. It didn’t mean she could tolerate any more sneers and insults. While Rogald and Sonder looked at her with awe because of her time travel powers, which was disconcerting on its own, Illiria treated her like a kid sister who was always getting in the way, but one mom and dad favored.
Illiria looked at her for a long time and started walking.
“I was born twenty years from now,” she said, drawing out every word. “It’s not very different, in twenty years. Kansas, a boring, landlocked state without a lot going on.”
They walked side by side, still dodging pedestrians. Illiria continued to speak, her voice low. Fiona leaned in to hear.
“I had three brothers, all of them older, so I was a tomboy, reckless and always eager to prove myself. As I said, there isn’t much difference between now and twenty years from now. We didn’t live off grid, by that time there is too much jacked in for us to do that, but my dad believed in living off the land, so we grew a lot of our crops. We had horses and cows and chickens.” She shuddered. “I hate cows. They’re not bright animals and their dung has such a stench.” Fiona waited.
“I was twenty when I died. I’d been stupid, with the folly of a person who is sure they are immortal. Turned out I wasn’t. I was at a bridge with a boy, daring him to walk the along the rails. Soden’s Grove Bridge was a popular spot to go and drink, and play chicken with the cars. I was darting between the pillars and lost my balance. In the original timeline I went over the tracks and was swept away in the Neosho River, and my body was never found. In reality the Guardians intercepted me before that happened and gave me the choice. It was a dumb way to die.”
Fiona wondered how many missing persons were those who had joined the time traveling groups instead of dying.
She paused and looked at Fiona. “They have to find people whose bodies disappeared and were not found. That’s what made you problematic, among other things. There was nothing in that accident that would make a person vanish, which is why we were there to ensure everything went according to the script. We’d found an anomaly on our sensors, but nothing prepared us for what happened.”
Fiona swallowed. She’d never considered that. Guardians protected the time stream, which meant anything unusual had to be corrected before events were affected.
“I didn’t know,” she said, moving her hands.
Illiria stopped walking for a moment. Again, people flowed around her. They were on the other side of the park, heading for scrubby ground. The pedestrians were starting to thin out. She saw a couple of hardy skateboarders around, daring the hills. She thought Brookline was hil
ly, but it paled in comparison to San Francisco. Of course San Francisco had nothing on Santorini, so they were even there.
“There was a lot you didn’t know, Fiona,” Illiria said, but her voice was gentler than it had been. “You were brash, full of yourself, but you had so much power. All of us have wanted to go anywhere in time, not just a hundred years. It’s not the same hearing about it as living it.” She shrugged. “The Commander tried to get around it. As far as I know he never succeeded.”
“Illiria,” Fiona said, pausing. “If he wanted to go outside of the time rules, why try to kill me? It doesn’t make sense. He could have kidnapped me and used me to jump to whatever time he wants. Wouldn’t that be what he would be after?”
Illiria nodded. “I agree, but he also is a Guardian, dedicated to the preservation of the time stream. You are the Traveler, and the only thing that can change what he perceives as the true and real outcome of Earth. He thinks you cause the Event, and he is determined to stop that. You need to be eliminated.” She paused, and looked at her belt. “I have some of his private recordings. He thought he had eradicated them, but we have a computer genius from Sonder’s time who extracted everything from the Commander’s virtual trash can in under a minute. The Commander should have known better.” Her smile was thin.
“I see,” Fiona said, although she didn’t. “So you went into the river and decided you were too young to die?”
“Yes.” Illiria’s voice was cool, her tone final. Fiona sensed she would get no more answers out of the woman. Still, she tried.
“You and Rogald seem like an unlikely couple, given your different affiliations.”
“Not your concern, Traveler,” Illiria said, her voice frosty.
“You’re really frustrating, you know that?”
Illiria looked at her and passed her hand over her short hair. Her brown eyes showed no emotion as she looked Fiona up and down.
“Would it help you do your job to know about me and Rogald? Would it make a difference in getting this done?”
