by Frank Carey
"Hello, Genna," Marta said to her.
"General, Commissioner, and this is?"
"Saffron Adon, ma'am."
"Daughter?"
"Not mine, I have sons," Anne quipped.
Genna gave Marta a pleading look.
"Genna, this is Anne, Priscilla's cousin."
"Wow, they could be twins. So, what can I do for you?"
"Lucien's throwing a dinner party, tonight. There'll be me, him, Anne, Losira, and Royce, so Anne and I need cocktail dresses."
"And Saffron?"
"I'm just here to observe."
"Ah! Moral support. Excellent. Follow me, please. We just got in some new dresses that you will adore."
"What's a dress?" Anne asked. The room went silent.
"She's such a kidder," Saffron said while Marta pointed at what Genna was wearing.
"Oh. How cute!" Anne said. "This is going to be fun."
The three women followed Genna to a private fitting room where their dresses awaited them.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Anne looked at herself in the mirror, the red cocktail dress she was wearing hugging every curve. "OK, this will so catch on in my universe." She looked down at her legs. "Thank the gods for calisthenics."
"Tell me about it," Marta said as she stepped out of the fitting room in a little black dress. "The EMEF was the best thing to ever happen to my figure."
"You two are dazzling," Saffron noted.
"Thank you," Marta said as she and Anne returned to their changing rooms to change back into their street clothes. They emerged moments later with their prizes in hand. "Genna, we'll take these. Can you put them on the royal account along with your usual gratuity?"
"Of course, General." Genna stepped outside while the ladies sat down to have drinks while they waited.
"Thank you, Marta, for doing this."
"Thank Lucien. He's been interested in alternate universes since finding the Alue."
"Alue?"
"Yeah, Alue. They're tall, grey, and they breed either with humans or in computer networks."
"Computer networks...? OK, and your husband discovered them?"
"More like revealed them. It's a long, convoluted story. Anyway, Lucien can't wait to meet you."
"Well, I can't wait to meet him. He sounds fascinating."
"That's one way to put it."
The door burst open followed by a dozen, fully armed mercenaries. Anne jumped up and transformed into her Stryker form, but collapsed, writhing in agony as she returned to human when one of the mercs threw a small ball at her.
"Stop it!" Saffron yelled as she ran to Anne's aide. Meanwhile, Marta disarmed three of the mercs before four more subdued her. "Easy there, General. We're not here to hurt you."
"Really? Have you ever experienced a suppressor ball?" She broke loose from her captors to run to Anne's aide. "Shut it down! Now!"
The leader, a Tralaskan woman, grinned, then tapped a control on her left gauntlet, causing Anne's spasms to subside. She sat there, breathing hard as she slowly recovered from the attack.
"You know who I am, and who she is," Marta said while pointing at Saffron, "so you know you're dog meat unless you release us."
"Yes, General, I know who you are, and I know the young miss is the youngest daughter of Gabriel Adon, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that Zoe has requested the presence of your new friend at her lair. Now get up, or we will have to pick you up."
With Marta's help, Saffron got Anne up and walking. Moments later, they were heading out the door. Marta turned to the leader when she saw the other mercs guarding Genna and the other staff. "You harm them in any way and you are dead. You have my word."
"Harming them is not part of my plan." She waved the mercs out the door, leaving a confused group of women watching Marta and her people being led out the door. In moments, the ship lifted off before disappearing behind a stealth field. Genna ran to the comm and called emergency services.
## #
It was getting late and Gabe was getting worried. "Where did those three go to get dresses? Tralaska?" Gabe asked as he pulled out his comm. Before he could key in Marta's number, the unit blasted out the emergency signal. Then he heard Pris' and Rista's units going off in other parts of the apartment. "Computer, connect apartment comm to my incoming call."
"Working..."
"DCI Adon, this is central dispatch. A robbery-kidnapping just occurred at a boutique downtown."
"Identities of kidnappees?" he asked with a feeling of dread as Pris and Rista joined him.
"General Marta McMurphy, Ms. Saffron Adon, and a person identified as Anne Adon, General McMurphy's guest."
"Identities of kidnappers,"
"Over a dozen heavily-armed mercenaries led by Angelica Hellion, a Tralaskan merc. She's wanted by half the planets in the League."
"This is Commissioner Adon. What are they using as transportation?" Pris said.
"A Siskiyu-Chalt 415 planetary hauler. It went to stealth the moment it lifted off."
"Any casualties?"
"None reported, Commissioner. Witnesses said it was well-planned and well-executed. The mercs were in and out in minutes. In fact, one of the witnesses reported that the only casualty was Ms. Adon who was zapped by some kind of small sphere that was thrown at her by one of the mercs."
"They knew she's a stryker and brought a suppressor ball with them," Gabe whispered.
"Dammit. OK. Dispatch, we're coming in. I want SWAT on standby and have Commander Gantz coordinate with the EMEF."
"Yes, Commissioner. Dispatch standing by. "
She looked at her husband and daughter. "They will be fine. Zoe knows what will happen if she harms a single hair on their heads. Rista, make sure our tactical gear is in the conveyance.”
"On it!" Rista yelled as she headed to the roof garage.
"Gabe, once we're airborne, I want you to liaise with Royal Security. Given half a chance, Lucien will go after Zoe with guns blazing."
"I knew there was a reason why I liked the elf so much." Gabe said.
Pris grabbed him by the arm. "Gabe, you need to focus. The Mad Doctor is running off-script, and I don't like it."
He thought for a moment. "You're right. She didn't send strykers. Instead, she sent a well-trained merc team lead by a seasoned commander."
"A Tralaskan female leader. Zoe never uses women. Psych Corps thinks she's intimidated by other Tralaskan women."
"Something's happened in Muntz-land."
"Mom, Dad, we're ready," Rista informed them from the door leading to the roof.
"Let's go. I'll change on the way in. Rista, you're a pilot this trip."
"Rodger dodger!" the young officer said as they headed to the craft.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Pris and Gabe headed to the Precinct One Tactical Briefing Room One while Rista reported to her squad room. Walking in they found the room empty except for Gloria. "Where is everyone?" Pris asked.
"Tac Two going over the mundane stuff related to planning a building breach. Meanwhile, I need to brief you two on some of that pesky top secret stuff we all hate." She activated the room's main viewer. Hundreds of financial documents appeared. "Gabe, back when you saved Orta, your daughter, Saffron, did some digging and found all this," she said while waving her hand at the big screen.
"And this is?" Pris asked.
"Zoe Muntz's financial records detailing her latest project: time travel."
"I thought time travel was impossible."
"That's the cover story. In reality, it is very possible. We even have a name for the science: temporal mechanics. The hard part is actually moving matter through time. According to these documents and a lot of other data we've been able to pull from the dark InterWeb, Dr. Muntz has figured out a way of doing just that: moving matter through the time stream."
"Wait, she can go forward or back in time?"
"Yes. She manipulates chronons and tachyons to influence an objects position in the time st
ream."
"So, how does this help us find Zoe?"
“Spill over. I took a chance that Dr. Muntz is still in the habit of cutting corners, so I reprogrammed a weather satellite to look for chrono radiation. It found a hotspot about 200 clicks north of here. Anne's quantum spin signature is also present at that location."
Gabe looked at Pris, then Gloria. "You just happened to have a weather satellite that could be reprogrammed to detect a new form of radiation. How long have you known about this time travel crap, Doctor? Look, even with the nanorobots coursing through my bloodstream, I’m nowhere near being a genius. All I've got are my cop instincts, and they're telling me that there is something definitely rotten in Denmark, so why don't you make my life easier by telling me what the hell is going on?"
"Gabe!" Priscilla said having had enough. "How about we focus on saving our family and Anne, hmmm?"
"So, you're in on it as well? And neither of you are going to tell me what is really going on?"
Gloria looked down at her shoes. "We can't, so I guess you'll just have to trust us."
"Fine," he said. "What next?"
She tapped her earcomm. "This is Gloria. We're set. Got it." She tapped the comm to end the call. "The Earth president and the League council have declared a state of emergency. We are go for an extraction."
"We, Doc? You're a civvie, remember?"
"Special circumstances. I'll be in the thick of things on this op. Let's go."
###
While the SWAT team prepared to storm the farmhouse, Gabe transformed into his camo stryker form and surveyed the area around the stronghold using several passive and active sensor systems.
"Camo?" Pris asked. She ran her hand over it. "I like it."
"Yeah, Gloria helped me access the skin controls. Now, I have a whole color and pattern pallet to choose from. "
"Find anything?"
"Well, the building is a trap. There are no labs, equipment, or people inside, just a large bomb buried in a wall at the building's center."
"Dammit, I knew it was too easy. So, where the hell's the source of the chronon radiation?"
"You're standing on it," Gabe replied casually while pointing to the ground. "My scans indicate an underground complex spanning several acres to a depth of two hundred feet." His hand darted out and grabbed something next to Pris. "Shut it down or I start disconnecting things."
A young woman appeared as her stealth field collapsed. "Taz sent me, dammit. Let go!" Gabe dropped her. "Brute!" she spat out while straightening her clothes.
"Interesting. Who are you?" Gabe demanded.
"Stella Muntz, and before you ask, I'm Zoe's cousin."
"So, what does old Taz want?" Gabe asked referring to one of Zoe's scientists.
"He needs to talk to you. It's urgent. He thinks Zoe's gone way off the deep end. Something about changing the past."
He looked over at Pris. "I need to do this."
"Not alone. I'm sending in an officer with you."
"I'll go," Rista said.
"No!" Pris and Gabe replied.
"With all due respect, I am a fully trained officer of Earth Security, and I volunteer for the assignment."
"Yoh, this is not the time for a family moment!" Stella reminded them.
"Fine! Go, but I expect you two to remain in one piece. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am," they replied.
"Stella, get them inside safe or I will land on you like a pallet of bricks, got it? "
"Why the hell are you picking on me? I'm just the plarking messenger..." She saw the look on Pris' face. "Fine, Yes, they will be safe, OK?"
"Get out of here," she told the three, "while I brief the troops."
Gabe retracted his armor and kissed his wife. "Try not to worry," he said as he returned to camo stryker form. Rista took her turn hugging her mom before following Gabe and Stella into the night.
CHAPTER NINE
Once the small ship landed, Marta and Saffron helped a still woozy Anne down the ship's ramp, then across the tarmac to an open hatch.
"Where the hell are we?" Saffron asked.
Marta looked up and saw a large pair of overhead doors closing. "It looks like an underground hangar. While we were on approach, I thought I saw a building nearby. I'm betting the whole damn facility is underground."
"Quiet!" Angelica barked, "and get inside. It's not smart to keep Zoe waiting."
Once past the hatch, the three guests were led through a maze of corridors to a small room with several chairs, a table covered in magazines, a couch, and a buffet next to a refrigerator.
"There are snacks in the cabinet and drinks in the fridge," Angelica said. "Zoe will be with you shortly." She walked out and locked the door from the outside.
Saffron got up and retrieved bottles of water from the fridge while Marta checked Anne's vital signs. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Like I was hit by a stunner blast. Now, I feel bad shooting that big moron back at the warehouse."
"Don't. He was trying to kill Gabe when you zapped him. Any word on your bots?"
Saffron handed her a cold water. "Thanks. My bots are out cold, and my diagnostics say they'll stay that way for a couple of hours. "
Zoe walked into the room and sat down across from the three women. "Hello Marta, Saffron." She looked at Anne. "And you are?"
"Cyber Corps Agent Priscilla-Anne Kitra, and you're Zoe Muntz. Damn, are all Zoes nuts?"
"You have a Zoe?"
"Yeah. She's why I'm here. My Zoe screwed the pooch by locking herself and the Earth in an inter-dimensional rift."
"And you came here to beg for help?"
"No. I came here to borrow you. I just need your right hand for about five-minutes. I could just cut it off if you're too busy. I promise to give it back."
"Ah, no, I don't think so. Anyway, I have other plans."
"What now, Zoe? Tralaska has disowned you. Orta has a price on your head. Why don't you just give up and check into a psych hospital?"
"Twenty years ago, Gabe thwarted my plans as he has done many times since..."
"I was wondering why I'm picking up a shit-load of chronons. You're planning on using time travel to change the past. You do know that won't work," Anne pointed out.
"Very good, Agent. But, you're wrong. It will work. I plan to go back in time to kill Gabe and Priscilla while destroying the Cube in the process. My calculations show that their deaths and the Cube's destruction will lead to the creation of a new League, one ruled by Tralaskans."
"Your math is wrong," Anne explained. "That large a change will lead to a temporal wipe. This universe will go blank as all the possible futures superimpose on one another."
"You're wrong..."
"I've seen it happen. It isn't pretty. Look, if you're dead-set on doing this, could I borrow your hand before you commit suicide? "
Marta sprung from her chair only to come face to face with a blaster in Zoe's hand. "I don't think so, Marta. Taz! Send in a medical technician, please."
A young Tralaskan man walked in carrying a blood-draw kit. "Priscilla-Anne, may We have permission to draw some of your blood?" Zoe asked as her weapon moved to point at Saffron.
"Sure, but it won't do you any good. My bots are keyed to my biosignature, including my quantum spin signature. They can't be reprogrammed." The tech quickly drew a vial of blood before leaving the room.
"Humor me," Zoe replied. She got up and headed toward the door. "Behave, you three, and no harm will come to you. This facility is time locked to this continuum, so anything inside will be unaffected by the events of the past. I'll resync us once I change the past. If you're lucky, your loved ones will recognize you, except for Saffron. Sorry about that." She walked out of the room. They heard the lock engage once she was outside.
"She can't do that, can she?" Saffron asked the two older women.
"Destroy this verse? Sure, actually change the flow of time? I doubt it," Anne said.
"But you don't know for sure?"
/>
Anne shrugged. "Nothing is ever set in stone when it comes to temporal mechanics."
Marta got up and examined the door. "We have to get out of here and stop her."
Anne stuck out her hand and made a fist. Nothing happened. "Dammit. If only I could form a weapon."
Marta walked over to a door and peeked inside. "At least we have a bathroom."
"Oh, fantastic," Saffron said as she ran inside.
Marta grabbed a pile of magazines from the table before sitting down on the couch. "For now, we wait for the cavalry to arrive, or for our captors to slip-up," she remarked as she picked a zine and thumbed through it. "Earth Security, Royal Security, the EMEF, and the League's Office of Security is out in force looking for us. It won't take them long to find us."
"How so?"
"Your quantum spin signature is like a beacon in the night."
"So, you're telling me I should quit worrying and read gossip rags?"
"At least until Saffy gets out of the head. Damn, what is taking that girl so long?"
CHAPTER TEN
Zoe stared over Taz's shoulder as the scientist peered into the confocal microscope. She said nothing while invading his personal space. Finally, unable to deal with the closeness, Taz stood back from the instrument. "What?" he asked.
"Well? Can we use the tech?"
"Yes, we can use the tech. I was able to defeat Anne's nanorobots’ safety interlocks, which allowed me to download the programming code. You were right, it is more advanced than your code."
"Can it solve my big problem?"
"Which big problem? You have so many, I can't keep track of them all."
"Can we speed up the transformation process without increasing the mortality rate?"
He sighed. "Yes, this code should fix the problem. All we need to do is add these bots to the injection. They're robust enough to control yours."
"How long?"
"Excuse me?"
"How long from injection to operable stryker?"
"Assuming no complications, two-hours. Why?"
"Prepare to operate, Dr. Taz."
"Operate? Operate on whom? We haven't even tested the idea on a lab rat."
