by Mara Amberly
The rain began to strengthen from a sprinkle into a heavier downpour from the heavens.
“This is how I remember it,” he said, cringing as the cold raindrops struck his face and neck.
A short walk brought them to a large boulder; one of several. They both took cover beside it. It didn’t shelter them from the rain, but they were less likely to be noticed by enemies.
“I see him,” she said, as she spotted movement further down the hill. “No, wait. That’s you!”
“You need to act now,” Eric said. “I wasn’t up there long before he fired on me.”
Cora searched around for the crossbowman and quickly spotted him. Just as Eric had described earlier, a stray piece of timber lay on the grass.
“I’m really going to do this,” she said, steeling herself for the inevitable.
“Yes you are,” he said, “otherwise we’ll change time and not in a good way.”
There was no more time to delay. She saw the roughly-dressed man fire on Eric and miss. The bolt struck the ground beside him, forcing his earlier self to take cover.
The man quickly loaded another bolt, and as he did so, Cora crept forward to pick up the lump of wood. It was wet and heavy in her hands. She wasn’t sure what it was from, but it felt rough enough to give her splinters.
She gasped as the man fired another bolt, hitting the rock beside Eric. Knowing the time had come, she crept forward and clubbed the crossbowman across the back of his head.
“I’m so sorry,” she told him as he slumped to the ground. “I didn’t have any choice,” she whispered, before dropping the lump of wood. “It’s nothing personal, though you shouldn’t have fired on Eric.”
Cora checked he was alive, which she was relieved to see he was. He also appeared to be unconscious, which was the ideal outcome, because she didn’t want to have to club him again. She waited for Eric’s earlier self to come out from behind the rock. It was time to set him on the right course. When he did, she stepped into a patch of moonlight.
“I’ve dealt with the crossbowman, but you need to leave quickly, Eric. You only have a few minutes to make a clean escape.”
“Why are you helping me?” he asked her. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m fairly sure I’d remember.”
“Isn’t it enough to do a good deed?” Cora bit her lip, hesitating. “Even if you return home they’ll be coming for you. You’d best go.”
“If you know me really well, what’s the place I’m from?”
“We don’t have time for this,” she said, hesitating briefly. “Your name’s Eric and you’re from… you’re from Valtera.”
She could see the look in his eyes that told her she was right.
“Do you need to come with me?” he asked uncertainly.
“I cannot. You need to go!”
Cora watched as he left through the rift. After that, she turned and climbed the hill to the rock where the Eric from her timeline had taken cover. When she got there he was gone and Juliane was crouched in his place.
“Where’s Eric?” Cora asked, looking up the hill. There was movement in the darkness, but the source was unclear.
“Listen to me, we don’t have much time. Don’t trust the moustached man, the champion or the woman with curly hair. They will betray you. You will need a code on Valtera to get in to save my son. The number is 1124. Remember,” she said.
“I understand,” Cora replied. “1124.”
As she glanced up the hill, she saw Eric was climbing back down towards her.
“Go on,” Juliane urged. “You didn’t see me here.”
Cora’s expression grew worried, but she left as Juliane had suggested. She climbed the hill to meet Eric.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“Just keeping an eye out for threats,” he said. “I thought I saw movement but I might’ve been wrong. It was likely just the rain. How did it go?”
“It went according to plan,” she said. “Let’s get out of here, and quickly.”
Chapter 17
June 2132 – Aboard the Equinox, Close to Earth
“You’ve told me that you can fix the rifts,” Cora said. “I’ve seen you do it a number of times. I don’t understand; why is Valtera different? Why are the fractures caused by the Event going to be so bad?”
Eric tried to think how best to explain it. To some degree, it was a matter of scope and scale.
“If I took a piece of cloth and cut it with a knife, you could sew it, correct?”
“Yes. I mean I know how to sew, but I see what you mean. It could be reconnected.”
“Right,” he said. “These fractures created by the Event aren’t like that. They’re not just going to cut or rip the cloth; they’re going to mangle it. If you had a bundle of threads and torn pieces, could you sew them back together and make them look anything like the original?”
Cora’s expression grew more concerned, which only confirmed for Eric that she understood his explanation.
“I suppose not,” Cora replied. “But it can’t be that bad? Time and space are strong, aren’t they?”
“They are here and now,” he said. “Time and space are fragile there because of what’s happened; they’re like tissue paper. There will be cracks running back through time close to Valtera and the closer we get to the time of the Event, the greater the risk. I don’t just mean travelling in time either; I mean in space. The safest places will be far away from the Event. There’s one area on my planet that will be safer than the rest of it when the time comes.”
“Why is that?” she asked with an edge of nervousness to her voice.
“Because the government of my planet knew it would take all of their power to shield and protect even a small area. They knew the rest of the planet would be ruined after they did this. They’re approaching this as the utter exodus of our race into godhood. They know that anyone left behind on the planet who doesn’t go with them is likely to be lost.”
“That’s horrible,” Cora replied in shock.
“It is shocking,” he agreed. “Why do you think I’m trying to stop it?”
Eric was upset – at his people, not Cora – but he tried to control his anger so he could explain the situation.
“Time could cease to exist around Valtera after the Event. I had similar concerns about Earth before I fixed the major rifts, but the damage from Valtera could spread that far out. They’ve already calculated that the fabric of time and space will be torn in places, buckled in others, and an extensive area will be affected. I’ve seen the reports. I sat in on the secret council.
I have a good idea of when it will happen; I knew the Event was approaching and I have records from when the wave struck my ship. Even in regular space, there’s a much greater chance of difficulties now and it will only get worse the closer we get to Valtera and the time of the Event.”
“This is already affecting my world and my people’s future. I have to help you,” she said. “If there’s something I can do, then I’ll be there.”
“I appreciate it,” Eric said, giving her a grateful smile, but the truth was he feared for her. He had every intention of returning her to her father safely, and the life she’d had back on Earth. He would accept what she wanted though, and he knew that was to come along with him.
“How close can we get to the Event without running into these fractures?” she asked him.
“The temporal fissures might go back a year or two at this stage. Over time they’ll seep down through the years, but they’ll be at their worst directly after the Event. The safest time to approach is years in advance, and try to stop it from within the shielded area. I think it covers the main portion of our capital city, Relsar’o. We should get going,” he said. “We’ll swing by and get Tom and his friends, and then we’ll be on our way.”
Cora looked like she had something on her mind, but she hesitated before voicing it.
“What’s wrong?” Eric asked.
“It’s not about your planet,” s
he said. “It’s just someone appeared to me in Tintagel from the future and told me not to tell you about it. They warned me not to trust some people who we haven’t met yet. I don’t want to spoil the future, but I also want to tell you if there’s a problem.”
Well, that was unexpected. He wondered who had dropped in on Cora, and more interestingly, how. They’d certainly chosen an interesting time to do it.
“You can’t spoil the future, because it isn’t written for you yet. You can only decide,” he said, knowing the same wasn’t necessarily true of his own future.
“That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” she said.
“You have to draw a line somewhere and just do what you feel is best. If you’re always being cautious of how the future might turn out, you’ll never get anything done.”
“That’s very wise,” she said. “It was Juliane.”
“Really?” he asked, his eyebrows rising. “That’s unexpected because we don’t know the Juliane in this time frame yet.”
“I know,” Cora said, deeply confused. “I don’t know what to make of it, Eric, and these time paradoxes. Life isn’t usually like this.”
“I know, but it’ll be alright,” Eric reassured her. “Who did she warn you about?”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to tell you?”
“It is,” he exclaimed. “Besides, she should’ve known you wouldn’t keep it to yourself. If someone can’t be trusted, I want to know who they are before I make a poor decision about them.”
“Maybe that’s the issue,” she said. “Maybe they have a part to play and if you don’t trust them, something won’t happen, and then time will go in a different direction.”
“You’ve been giving this a lot of thought, haven’t you?” he asked her.
Cora nodded. “I’ve thought of little else since we left Tintagel. Well, that and the man I clubbed; I checked him and he was alive. It was also wonderful to see my father again, so he’s been on my mind.”
Eric smiled at that. It wasn’t funny, but his thought of the demure Cora clubbing a crossbowman over the head would stay happily burned into his memory forever.
“Tell me what Juliane said.”
Cora sighed and recited it word for word, or as best as she remembered:
“Don’t trust the moustached man, the champion or the woman with curly hair. They will betray you. You will need a code on Valtera to get in to save my son. The number is 1124.”
“That just makes things stranger,” he said, “but it’s good to have the code. There are obviously bigger events in motion, but I don’t see what we can do except let them play out.”
Cora nodded, “that sounds dangerous.”
“No more than it already was,” he replied with a smile. “Do you need some rest or shall we get moving?”
“I’m well, thank you,” she said, sliding back into her seat. “I’m ready to see more wonders of the universe and time…”
“Yes, and all the ways it can go horribly wrong. You’re most welcome,” he replied. “Let’s go get Tom. I have a very strong feeling Juliane might be joining us. After all, sooner or later, she’s going to need a ship.”
It was a year later for the people on Earth, but it was just a long day for Eric and Cora.
“I hope it’s alright but I can’t just sit at home when my son’s out there. Without my husband and son, there’s nothing left for me on Earth.”
Juliane had obviously recovered from her injury and she was walking again, though with a noticeable limp.
Eric found it good to see her again, face to face.
“How is the replacement?” Eric asked, indicating her leg. “Can you run if you need to?”
He didn’t want Juliane to slow them down, but it was already too late to stop her boarding his ship.
“I can run,” she said. “It mightn’t be pleasant but this isn’t going to fall off if that’s your concern.”
Cora covered her mouth to conceal her grin.
Eric realised it must’ve been a strange conversation for her to overhear.
“I can take you there but I can’t look after you on the planet,” Eric said, replying to Juliane. “My suggestion would be to put down the ship on the outskirts of the city and rendezvous with you, Tom and the others when you have your son. I’ll have matters of my own to attend to there.”
“That’s alright,” she agreed. “As long as you can get us in and out of Valtera, that’s what we’re looking for.”
Her friends filed along the corridor, soon catching up with them.
“Janice, Oron and Harry, meet Captain… what is your last name?” she asked.
“Furey,” Cora replied, without thinking.
She’d obviously taken it to be true, though Eric knew better.
Eric was surprised that Juliane’s friends didn’t fit the description of the three individuals Juliane had mentioned when she discussed betrayal with Cora.
“A pleasure to meet you,” he said. “The ship doesn’t have many cabins so you might need to double up until we get where we’re going.”
“Not a problem,” a heavyset but muscular man replied.
He had short-cropped hair and a bit of stubble. That was Oron. He seemed more relaxed and casual than a military man. He’d brought a pistol with him but Eric doubted that he’d need it.
Harry was the youngest of Juliane’s friends, and looked in his early twenties, with dark hair and grey eyes.
Eric wasn’t sure how Juliane and Tom knew him, but he seemed willing to help out.
Janice was an older woman with glasses and a sleek bob of blonde hair. She seemed an unusual choice to accompany them, but Eric was sure she must have her reasons. She looked rather like the stereotypical librarian of times past.
“That’s a lot of people to get one boy out,” he said.
“Oh, we’re not here to help Tom and Juliane, unless we’re needed,” Oron said. “We’re here to help you. That, and find out what happened to our families. They went back to Valtera when they were ordered. We want to find them again and make sure they’re alright, and try to put a stop to the damage before it occurs.”
The thought made Eric uneasy, but he understood why they’d feel compelled to help him out. He had gone to Earth in search of help, after all. He just needed to know they could be trusted first. He didn’t want anyone revealing his plan to their partner in the Valteran military.
“I should get to know you all a bit first and what skills you bring to the table,” he said. “What are your plans once you’re on the planet?”
Not very subtle, he knew, but he needed to know and directness was usually the best policy. He was aiming for a time frame on Valtera that came after the attack on Shenalon Base but well before the Event, so there should’ve been time for the military personnel to return to the planet. That’s unless they took the long way around, targeting the other bases. He had no way of knowing for sure.
“My mother used to be stationed at the Relsar’o High Command. I was planning to contact them directly and find out if she’s there,” Harry said.
“No,” Eric replied. “You do that and they’re going to ask questions, like how you got back and which ship you came in on. If they look into it they’re going to come up short.”
“What are we going to do then?” he asked.
There seemed no perfect, simple answer.
“Drop us off on the planet,” Oron said, as Tom arrived on board. “We’ll find somewhere to stay, take a bit of time settling in and wait until after you’re finished with your objectives. Then we’ll make discreet enquiries or hack our way into their systems. I’m partial to the latter,” he said.
Eric nodded. He was partial to a bit of hacking himself.
“How would we leave Valtera?” Janice asked. “If you have to leave in a hurry, that could leave us stranded there.”
Eric knew the Valteran government had already begun restricting non-essential travel around that time. “The safest option would be to ch
arter a shuttle of your own. I can come back for you and meet you in Valteran space, but they might also be looking for me by then if plans don’t unfold smoothly.”
That seemed to peak Cora’s curiosity. She probably wondered what Eric had in mind for his mission. The truth was he was still figuring out the finer details of it himself. They centred around preventing the Event or destroying the infrastructure before it took place, but until he was there and able to see the technology for himself, he wasn’t entirely certain what he could do. He could only plan ahead for some eventualities on the off chance he was right about them.
“We could stay permanently on the planet if Eric succeeds,” Harry replied. “I don’t know about you, but as long as I’m with my mother again, I’m in no hurry to go anywhere else.”
“I suppose,” Janice replied. “Chartering a shuttle is out of my budget.”
“But not mine,” Oron said, turning to Eric. “We could agree to rendezvous with your ship 10 days from now?”
“That sounds good. Oron, Harry and Janice – if you settle in and lie low, we can contact you when your help’s needed. Harry, you could stay there or go afterwards, but I’d suggest having an option in place to leave, just in case,” Eric said. “Tom and Juliane can find their son, and Cora and I will take care of what we need to. We leave when we’re done, and come back at the pre-arranged time to meet your shuttle. We can head back to Earth and figure out where to go from there.”
“It sounds good in theory, but what if plans change?” Cora asked. “What if we can’t stop the Event or Tom and Juliane don’t return to meet us in time?”
“We can run through all the possibilities in advance and what will occur should something unexpected happen. That way we know where we all stand. If any of us needs the help of the others, I’ll make sure you have some means to get in touch. You should all have a way off-planet that doesn’t rely on me in case anything goes wrong.”
