The Temporal Key

by Adam Benson

  All you have been doing is staring at that thing, Thalia thought. Have you figured it out yet?

  The anomaly? No. It’s possible that it’s temporal contamination, but something doesn’t quite compute right about that. Like a piece of the puzzle missing, Dayk replied.

  Dr. Dayk, Thalia said with worry in her thoughts.

  Yes, Dr. Thalia?

  They did an autopsy on one of us, she said.

  Dayk sighed audibly. Yes, they did.

  What are they going to do to us if they catch us? She asked.

  Nothing good, I imagine, Dayk said, briefly turning his attention to her. I’ll admit, I think we got lucky in the corridor, but we have fully charged cloaking devices now, and I don’t think we’ll have to worry about getting captured.

  Yes, but we’ve got, what, six sols left? These won’t hold a charge that long, and we’ve got no way to charge them back up, and…

  Thalia, we’ll be fine. We still have the technological advantage, and we’ll be very smart about how we proceed, Dayk cut her off mid thought. Trust me, I’m in no hurry to get captured by these primitives any more than you are.

  Yes, but you mean to have us follow one of these primitives, and we have no idea what she actually intends to do. For all we know, she’s telling them about us right now! Thalia argued.

  I don’t think she is. Yes, they’re primitive and comparatively brutal, but they still share a lot of the same emotional traits that we have, and that woman seemed sincere in her desire to help us get to the ship. That’s the first positive experience we’ve had with these people since we got here, and we’re going to need help if we hope to make it across a hundred and fifty kilometers of primitive desert in less than six days, said Dayk.

  They're moving! Thalia thought to Dayk, watching his holographic projection. She watched him look quickly at his right hand and automatically shut down the Temporal Key with his left. Do you still want to go?

  Let's do it! Dayk thought.

  Fine, she said. Just please don’t get me dissected!

  They both crawled out from under the sink and activated their cloaking devices. Dayk left his hologram active and it appeared to float, disembodied, through the cloaking device. As they walked toward the restroom door Dayk noticed that only the men, and the other woman were leaving, but not Naomi. She was remaining behind in the conference room with the two men who had remained at the front of the room. Wait! He said. The woman isn't leaving the room.

  She could be giving our position away right now. What if she wants to be the one to capture us? Thalia asked.

  Relax, Dayk said. I'm sure it’s benign. The men were getting ever closer to the corner of the hallway. Let’s go out the door now, while we still have time.

  Dayk immediately started walking out toward the hallway. He shut his hand and his hologram disappeared before him. The restroom door opened and Dayk and Thalia quickly slipped out. Just as the door shut behind them a group of men came around the corner.

  You ready? Dayk asked.

  Ready as I’m going to be, Thalia said.

  The horde of men came barreling down the hallway. Thinking the hallway clear, they marched along in a wide group pushing quickly forward toward the door. As they got closer, both Dayk and Thalia pushed themselves as flatly along the walls as they could, hoping that they wouldn't get plowed into. The group of men flew by them quickly and started filing out of the narrow door at the end of the corridor.

  Come on. Dayk said and followed the group out of the door. He slipped in right behind the last and shuffled his way through. To his surprise the door shut right behind him.

  Dayk! Came a faint voice. Dayk stopped in his tracks.

  I'm here Thalia! He yelled.

  I didn't make it through. The door closed before I got there.

  Dhregh! Ok. Hold on. Dayk waited and watched as the group of men quickly filed out passed the guard at the desk and out the front door of the building. In a short matter of Chrons Dayk was alone in the front office with the receptionist guard who sat lazily at the watch behind a desk.

  As soon as the front door closed behind the exiting men, the guard turned his attention back onto the crossword puzzle that he had previously been focusing his attention on. Dayk looked through the walls for life signs and glowing red avatars appeared coming down the hallway after the men, and whoever it was would be there shortly. His eyes snapped over to the guard who still sat there playing his crossword.

  He sighed a quick relief. Alright. Someone is coming. You can follow them out. He yelled to Thalia.

  It's the woman! Thalia said a few chrons later.

  Dayk waited until suddenly the door next to him opened up and the tall woman's skirt brushed passed his eyes. The door stayed open for only a brief moment afterward and Dayk held his breath, not knowing whether to start following the woman, or wait for Thalia's confirmation.

  I'm through! She thought very near to Dayk.

  Follow her out. Dayk said.

  The two followed Naomi out the front door and into the bright world outside. The woman walked alone, far from the other men as they headed around the hangar and off toward the rest of the base.

  "Thank you." Dayk said just shortly behind her.

  Naomi kept a steel blonde smile and kept walking. "You're welcome." She said.

  "What's the plan now?" Dayk's disembodied voice asked.

  "My plane leaves in about two hours." Naomi said.

  Hours? Thalia asked Dayk.

  About eight kiloChrons. Dayk responded. "Where will that take place? Can you take us there now?" He asked.

  "I can't head straight there. I have to stay with the group until my plane leaves. You're welcome to come with me, but it'll probably be safer if you wait for me near the air strip." Naomi said as she marched with determination around the outside wall of the hangar and continued on toward the main part of the base.

  As they marched along, they came around to the front of the massive hangar. The doors were open and each one of the trucks hauling the Chronis was pulling away and leaving the base. There was a thick cloud of dust behind each one, and both Dayk and Thalia lost a little bit of hope as each truck drove by them. The trucks appeared to glow an ominous red as the signature of their crashed ship departed from the base.

  Dayk and Thalia almost had to jog to keep up with Naomi's quick pace. "Where's the air strip? Is it safe?"

  "Well, there are plenty of places to hide. I can't point at the moment, because it'll look suspicious, but across the base, just slightly to the right of us is the air strip. You'll see a bunch of airplanes. I'll be flying out on one of the ones that looks like a passenger plane." Naomi said. She kept marching forward, the two short people struggling to keep up with her quick pace, until she came closer to another building where many of the people from the group before were filing though the front door. "I have to go in there. Again, welcome to follow me in, but it's probably safer if you wait at the field."

  "We'll wait at the field." Dayk responded.

  "Two hours." She said, and then quickly jogged off to catch up with the rest of her group.

  Dayk and Thalia stopped following her and watched her run away toward the other primitives.

  Well... Dayk thought loudly. It looks like we'll be able to get a ride to Alamogordo. Let's hope this works.

  I'm just ready to be done with this trip. Thalia complained. Without another moment to spare, they both started trudging off toward the air strip.

  Primitive Air Travel

  The airstrip was lined with rows of military planes, fighters, bombers, cargo planes and troop transporters. There were pallets of artillery and stacks of crates lining any walls and filling in all available spaces. Men walked with tools going all over the airfield moving cargo, servicing aircraft engines and getting them ready for flight. One plane was getting special attention, pulled away from the rest of the fleet. A large mobile steel staircase was pushed up alongside the tail of the plane and three corpses glowing red in their
enhanced vision were being loaded inside an ice chilled compartment.

  Can you believe that powered flight has only existed for about thirty years in this time period? Dayk thought loudly to Thalia. How much would you like to bet that that's the vehicle we're looking for?

  Well, that seems to be the only passenger plane prepping for flight. Thalia thought. We had better find a place to hide out until the woman arrives. My cloak power's already down to eighty nine percent.

  Ninety for me. Dayk interrupted. And we still have a little over six point five kiloChrons before the flight is supposed to leave; according to her. I'd rather not waste any power. Dayk said as he led Thalia to a loose stack of crates.

  They crawled in between the stack which had just enough space to hunker down in but was still deep enough to give lots of shade and low chances of being disturbed or discovered. As soon as she sat down, Thalia disengaged her cloaking device. Dayk appeared beside her as he leaned back and looked out through the pallet’s fork holes and slats.

  I know this woman seems like a good idea now, Thalia started, but could this be what causes that anomaly?

  Dayk pulled the temporal key from his pocket and activated it with a thought. The orb floated above the cube and he used it to quickly calculate their involvement with the Primitive against the anomaly. I just don’t see any connection there, he said after a moment. If anything, she may be the only thing standing between us and exposure. This is a good opportunity, and we need one.

  Thalia didn’t say anything back but grabbed the archiver and started re-materializing her recording device. Well, I’m going to record what I can while we’re waiting. She thought as the archiver finished re-materializing the recorder.

  Six more kiloChrons, Dayk said. There was nothing more to do but wait.

  After four kiloChrons, Thalia passed out from exhaustion. Dayk thought about waking her up, but decided to let her sleep while he continued watching and studying the air field. His own eyes were heavy with sleep, but he fought it as much as he was able. After a while, his careful observations had become blank staring, and he had almost forgotten what he had been looking for. A woman had come out of a nearby building and began slowly making her way toward the plane he was watching. She stopped halfway between the buildings and the plane and turned around. She looked across the entire field, as though she was trying to see a friend in a crowd, then stood there obviously waiting for something. Dayk’s eyes locked on her blankly, seeing her as little more than a new moving object in his view, before his tired brain caught up with what was going on. It was her!

  Thalia! he thought loudly, forgetting that he wasn't cloaked. There was no reply. He turned around and looked at her still asleep. "Thalia!" He said out loud at her. She jumped at the sound of his voice and began to stir.

  "I wasn't sleeping." She moaned groggily.

  Thalia! She's here. Pack up the recorder and let's go. He said anxiously.

  What? She asked absentmindedly. Then it hit her. Thalia sat up and got her bearings. She's here!? Dhregh! I must have fallen asleep! She thought in a panic, quickly trying to organize herself.

  It's alright Thalia. I just now saw her. And don't worry about it, I was so tired I almost missed her myself.

  I need to get the recorder archived. It's going to take a few hectos. She thought all flustered. She grabbed the recorder and checked its status before quickly shutting it down. Her other hand was on the archiver picking it up and getting it ready to take in the recorder.

  Take your time, I think she's actually looking for us out there. We have some time.

  As Thalia started archiving the recorder, Dayk watched as Naomi started walking around the airstrip, with one hand shading her eyes as she looked around the field. She tried her best to look as nonchalant as she could as she began walking closer to the stacks of crates and bombs that lined the area around the active airport. She walked very casually, occasionally looking back at the men still prepping the plane to make sure she wasn't being scrutinized. It was fairly obvious that she was trying to look like a casual tourist, but instead came across to him more like a woman hunting for snipe along a runway. Alas, she turned and slowly walked to the plane to begin climbing the staircase that led into the fuselage behind the wing. All the while she continued to scope around the runway, looking around for the invisible Martians.

  As Naomi disappeared into the airplane, Dayk turned around to check on Thalia's progress.

  Almost done. She thought. Another fifty chrons.

  Our escort is getting on board. It should be pretty simple to make it out to the plane and just walk on whenever you're ready. He said. He turned back to the field and watched what was going on. Two more men were coming out of the building and walking with purpose toward the plane. The trucks and other ground personnel were slowly bringing their activities to a close, and Dayk could see two men in the small cockpit window beginning to get settled in and flip switches. He continued to watch as Thalia finished with the archiver.

  Done. She said excitedly.

  Alright. Let's go. Dayk said, and then he disappeared before her eyes. Thalia engaged her cloak and started trying to leave when she ran right into Dayk's back.

  Sorry. She thought. I wasn't sure if you were out yet.

  No problem. I'm heading out now. He said and then started running out of their hiding place and onto the air strip.

  The two men had made it to the top of the stairs and entered the plane. Dayk and Thalia continued to run toward the stairs. Dayk started to hear his own heavy breathing in his mask as they reached the plane and started climbing up the stairs. He jumped into the fuselage and quickly put his back flat on the opposing wall of the plane. He felt a push of air hit him almost immediately afterward. Thalia? He yelled.

  I'm in. She replied as she slammed into him on the back wall. She almost fell back when Dayk caught her with a fortunately accurate blind grab.

  Just as he pulled her up and beside him, a man in a green flight suit came back from the cockpit and started walking quickly toward the back of the plane. When the man got to the back, standing directly in front of Dayk and Thalia, he pulled the laddered door up and sealed up the plane for takeoff.

  Good timing! Dayk said with a smile. Let's contact our escort.

  Naomi sat nervously in her seat toward the back of the Douglas C-47 Skytrain. General Ramey and Major Moorhead had both walked forward toward the seating near the cockpit and sat next to each other to continue their conversation. There were two other men that she didn't recognize sitting at random other places toward the front of the plane, but by themselves. She kept trying to find any clues she could to the presence, or absence, of the aliens she was attempting to assist. She didn't want to seem conspicuous, but she almost couldn't stop her eyes from more than casually glancing around, continually scouring the inside of the plane for traces of invisible beings.

  The C-47 was a military passenger transport. Compared to its commercial counterpart, the DC-3, it was stripped down to only the barest essentials. Most of the seating was all aluminum molded benches, with a wide divot for the seat, riveted together. There were chrome eyelets that fastened passengers in with a seat belt, and the seating was all side by side in a long bench that bolted with their backs along the inside walls of the fuselage. The entire interior of the cabin was painted a moss green and was decorated with charts and lists of procedures. There were small rectangular windows that were wider than they were tall, but since people sat with their backs to the wall, they couldn’t really see anything but the sky, and possibly a few clouds. There was no stewardess, nor were there amenities of any kind. This bird's only mission was to move troops from one place to the other. It could carry up to twenty-eight at a time, plus a four-man crew, but today it was only carrying eleven. Four sat in the cockpit, and five sat on the benches along the wall. The other two stood invisibly along the fuselage directly opposite the plane's rear door, stowing away, and unknown to everyone on board, except Naomi.

  It w
as the plane's navigator who had pulled the rear door shut and latched it for flight. He started walking back up toward the front of the plane, and as he passed Naomi, he gave her a big smile and a quick salute. She smiled back and then quickly looked away out the opposing window, while he continued to his station up in the cockpit.

  "Sorry about the seating, sir." He said to General Ramey as he passed. "Had we known you were coming we would'a had some better seats put in."

  "It's fine Lieutenant." Roger Ramey replied. "It's short notice, and we've got to fly."

  "Yes sir." The Lieutenant said with a smile.

  The young man gave a brief salute and continued into the cockpit. General Ramey turned to Major Moorhead. He could see that Harvey was livid about having to fly out to Alamogordo. "We'll get these three to the lab at Alamogordo, you can brief their men on what you found. Give them a quick tour of one of the bodies..." Harvey Moorhead shot the General a quick look. It wasn't a very expressive glance, but it certainly meant something. It wasn't necessarily anger, or fear, or pleas, or gratitude, but it was definitely a sharp look. "... Then we'll get you right back on this bird, and you can go back to work at the hospital tomorrow." Harvey looked quietly away. "If you need a day or two to process all this, just let me know. Alright? And Harvey..." Harvey looked back over to him. "... You did good work in there today. Really solid work."

  "Thank you, sir." Said Harvey. He turned and tried to look back over his shoulder out the window. All he could see was the wing of the plane.

  Naomi still looked like she had lost something but wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for. She watched the young navigator take his seat, and she could hear a mumble from the flight crew, but it wasn't enough to make out what they were saying.

  Suddenly she got a sense. She could feel a presence drawing near to her. The hairs on her neck stood up. The air around her felt only slightly warmer, but the difference was there. Then, she heard something very, very close to her ear.