by Mara Amberly
“We don’t have any scheduled visitors. What are you doing here?.”
“I’ve been sent to interview a young woman you have in custody.”
“I’ll need to check your clearance,” the man said, reaching out a hand for his badge.
Eric knew it wouldn’t be enough, but he had an ace up his sleeve.
The guard ran his badge through a hand-scanner. It was genuine; he’d created it aboard the Equinox and linked it to the Valteran military database. It didn’t have his name; it had a pseudonym, only with his photograph, of course.
“Colonel Edwards? I didn’t recognise you as military without the uniform,” he said, handing the card back.
“That’s alright. I’m working with the intelligence service and I can’t wear the uniform all the time.”
“Is that so?” the man asked, glancing between the picture and Eric.
“I will, of course, need today’s clearance code,” he said. “You can key it in here.”
The man handed Eric a hand-device with a keypad. Inwardly, Eric groaned.
Did it change every single day? He wasn’t sure if it was after midnight, but it must have been close.
He keyed it in quickly, hoping for the best. It took a long time to process it, during which he and the guard glanced at each other, and then the keypad flashed red.
Eric stared at it in surprise. He really had expected his code to work. With a sigh, he reached toward the stun baton tucked within his suit jacket.
“Wait,” the guard said, as Eric’s fingers grasped it. “I forgot to include the authentication code. It’s been a long day.”
Eric let go of the baton and tried to relax. After a few seconds, the panel flashed green.
“You can go on through. There’s only one female prisoner and she’s in cell 5. Do you have any objects to store before you go in?”
The guard gestured to a sign that Eric had missed. “No weapons, electronics, drugs or sharp objects permitted.”
“No, nothing,” he said matter-of-factly and started toward the cell.
The guard handed him a pass card. “To open the door.”
“Thanks,” he replied and walked on.
Eric expected the guard to follow him, but he didn’t. There was no metal detector, but he’d probably bypassed that by avoiding the doors. His hand device was so useful, they should’ve been illegal. Oh wait, he reminded himself, they were – aside from military use.
Eric didn’t waste time hanging around; he followed the corridor along until he reached the cells, and headed straight for the fifth. There was a metal panel on the door and he slid it back. Through the heavy mesh, he made out the figure of Cora curled up on a wooden bench against the wall, her hand shielding her eyes. The cell was brightly lit, but she seemed to be trying to sleep.
“Bastards,” he murmured to himself.
Scanning the pass card, the door opened and Cora jumped awake. She quickly huddled against the wall.
“Cora, it’s me,” he said softly. Eric wasn’t sure if they were listening in, but he knew they were watching.
“Eric?” she asked, her eyes damp with tears. She rushed toward him, and while it broke Eric’s heart to do it, he backed up a few paces.
“They’re watching us,” he said and gave her a few moments for that to sink in.
His instincts told him to hug the girl and leave together, but how many other chances would he get to enter the High Command if his override code was only valid today?
“I told them things,” she said, visibly trembling. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. Please don’t hate me.”
Eric’s heart broke at her words. “I don’t hate you, Cora. Not at all. You did what you had to, and I’m sorry I didn’t get to you sooner.”
He would’ve been longer still if he hadn’t set the time frame for the night before. That meant another version of himself was still out there, watching right now. Maybe even two if the original Eric in this time frame was curious enough.
He wondered if there was some way to work it so he could drop Cora off outside and come back. Of course, there was if he used his TSAI to travel back in time. Everything needed to happen in the day when the code was valid. That was possible if he could avoid running into his other-selves and if he didn’t weaken time too much in the area. As it was, he wasn’t sure the members of the High Command didn’t deserve it, especially with what they’d done to Cora and the people of his world.
Eric put his arm around Cora and drew her into a hug against his chest. He wondered what the guard watching would do, so he acted fast. Eric activated the rift coordinates, which would take them straight back to the square. It should be out of sight of his earlier self.
“Coordinates disabled due to security protocols in effect. Please try again,” his TSAI replied.
Eric groaned, not expecting this. He should’ve foreseen it.
“TSAI, use override code Blue Ultra for the same coordinates,” Eric requested. His patience was wearing thin.
“Override approved,” the TSAI replied. “Please enter password.”
Eric typed in ‘1124’. He wasn’t a praying man, but he hoped for Cora’s sake and his own it would open. It was two minutes past midnight, but surely there were situations prior to a new code’s release where an agent required an older one to work.
“Password denied,” his TSAI replied.
“You don’t have any other codes?” Cora asked him nervously.
Eric shook his head. “I’d go back in time now, but it won’t let me because of where we are. At a future point when I have the code, I could leave it for myself on a slip of paper in my pocket.”
Eric checked his pockets, but he didn’t find a code. “It’s not there,” he said in shock. At least he still had his stun baton.
Cora sighed. “Maybe you never find out the code?”
Two seconds passed and there was a knock on the door. Cora recoiled and Eric feared the guards had come.
“Who is it?” he called, not opening the door. “I have an interrogation underway.”
“This is Tom Woods,” the voice replied matter-of-factly. “I think you’d both better come with me.”
Chapter 21
December 2134 – The Relsar’o High Command, Relsar’o Zone 1, Valtera
Eric racked his mind for options. Perhaps they could barricade themselves in the cell and he could stun anyone who tried to enter? It seemed possible, but the guards would almost certainly have the upper hand. It was with no small degree of worry that Eric eventually left the cell, with a cautious Cora in tow.
Tom wasn’t the only one there, he soon realised. He was accompanied by a young guard with a laser rifle. It hung on a strap across his shoulders, though it wasn’t aimed at either himself or Cora at the present time.
“I’m sorry for what’s happened, but I couldn’t stay quiet after the severity of the attack on Shenalon Base and the forthcoming Event you told me about. The purpose of the military is to defend our world, and I couldn’t let our continued survival rest with you, no matter how driven I was to believe you were doing the right thing.”
“So you betrayed me,” Eric said, as he put an arm around Cora’s shoulders to comfort her.
“See it that way if you must,” he said, “but the planet was at stake, and I would go to extremes to help Valtera, just as you would.”
“I saved your life and your wife’s, and that of your men.”
“You’re not seeing the bigger picture here,” Tom replied, “though I want you to know that I’m grateful for all you did for us.”
“What’s the bigger picture?” Cora asked. She was weak and shaky on her feet.
Eric didn’t know what they’d done to her, but he was annoyed and no good-natured chat with Tom was going to change that.
“You and Cora were correct,” Tom said, as he stopped in the corridor.
“Someone was trying to misdirect the council, and lead us into a disaster.”
“The Trines?” Eric a
sked, gritting his teeth.
“We’re still establishing that,” Tom replied. “We determined that several members of the council, including the High Councillor, were duplicates. If you hadn’t brought me back here, hadn’t acquired the sensors and Cora hadn’t been arrested, we would never have known.”
“You got them?” Eric asked with interest. The anger and desolation in his voice briefly fell away, as he considered what this meant for the future of his people.
“Oh we did,” Tom confirmed. “They’ve already been linked to the deaths of thousands and destruction of a number of our military facilities. Believe me, we’re focusing our resources on determining how deep their influence goes.”
Cora smiled, and Eric knew her well enough to know it was because some good had come of this.
“Our people owe you both a debt of gratitude, but it doesn’t change the fact you’ve broken a slew of laws. As a former military man yourself, I’d have expected you to know better.”
He and Cora were no longer in the cells – they were standing in a grey-walled corridor between office doors, which only contributed to Eric’s confusion.
“What are you saying? You’re arresting us?” he asked. The pitch of his tone had risen and beneath the surface, his anger grew.
“Not exactly,” Tom explained. “I’ve been asked to hold you here for the time being while you’re questioned and this matter is resolved.”
“Would Juliane approve of this?” Cora asked, folding her arms. Even though she was dishevelled and out of sorts, she was still set in her ways.
“I have no idea,” he said. “She’s with our son, and I think that matters most to her.”
Eric and Cora exchanged glances, and Eric shook his head.
Tom unlocked the door to a nearby office and gestured for Eric and Cora to enter. The young guard with the laser rifle waited outside, watching them carefully. Even though he appeared relaxed, Eric knew he could fire quickly if he chose to. Eric was reluctant to give him any reasons.
After Eric and Cora had entered the room, Tom locked the door from the outside.
It was akin to a storage room, with several empty desks and chairs, and a row of shelves with assorted books in paper format. Eric knew they weren’t paper in the sense Cora might’ve recognised; they had a more advanced, editable approximation of paper.
“I can’t believe he would do this to us,” Cora said, shaking her head. “I thought he was a good man.”
“I’m sure he thinks he is,” Eric replied. “Perhaps it’s for the best that the word got out the way it did.”
“Maybe,” she replied. “I didn’t mean to say as much as I did. I just wanted to help them because they’re your people, even when they were screaming at me.”
“Oh Cora, I’m so sorry,” Eric replied, drawing her into his arms and trying to calm her upset.
“It’s alright, Eric. There’s no way we can get out of here?” she asked him. “They might lock us up. I can’t get home without you and I wouldn’t want either of us to be stuck in this terrible place.”
She made a good point, Eric realised. They hadn’t taken his TSAI off him yet, but it was only a matter of time until they did. He knew what his chances of getting it back would be if that happened.
“I don’t know what to make of the fact my later self didn’t give me the password or passcode, but I think there has to be another way out of here. Maybe we’re not thinking creatively enough,” Eric said. He looked around the room, noticing a large air vent in the ceiling. He pulled over a desk and climbed on it, his fingers coming up a few inches short of the grill above.
“Pass me that book over there, will you?” Eric asked.
Cora handed him the large geographical guide, which he used to climb that little bit higher.
He pulled on the grill, but it wouldn’t budge. He could already tell he was too large to climb in there. Cora might fit, but it probably wouldn’t do them a lot of good. He climbed back down, and with a sigh, sat on the edge of the desk.
Outside the door, he thought he heard footsteps and wondered if their time was up.
The lock turned and the door opened. He wasn’t met with the faces of strangers like he was expecting. Instead, he recognised Oron, Harry and himself.
Eric wasn’t expecting that. Could his younger self from this time frame have decided to help him?
That question was quickly answered when his arriving self’s face wavered. It morphed into another he knew, though not as well. Juliane’s. She seemed delighted by his expression of surprise.
“I have something of yours,” she said.
“My Holographic Matrix Projector,” Eric exclaimed joyfully.
“Mmhm,” she confirmed.
Juliane had a TSAI of her own, though Eric had no idea where she’d got it from.
“Before Tom spoke to his superiors, he fixed it for you. I could tell he’d been wrestling with his conscience for a while. He’s a good man at heart; he just approaches things differently.”
Her expression softened more when she turned to Cora. “I’m sorry you’ve had a rough time of it here.”
Eric didn’t give a damn about Tom. Not now; not ever again. Perhaps that was immature of him, but he wouldn’t risk being betrayed by him again. That said, he was grateful Tom had such a wonderful wife.
Eric took the Holographic Matrix Projector gratefully, but as he was about to slot it into his TSAI, he had a thought that perhaps it was exactly what someone wanted him to do. Could it have been tampered with?
Eric slipped it into his pocket instead, as another thought occurred to him.
Juliane had passed the code to Cora that had got him into the High Command building. She’d got it from somewhere, so it stood to reason that she or her husband were intelligence agents, or had come into contact with them.
“Tell me, Juliane, what’s today’s code?” Eric asked.
“Code?” she asked him, perplexed. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You gave Cora yesterday’s code. I need the code for today. I would be profoundly grateful if you’d share it or key it in for me.” He indicated his TSAI.
Juliane shook her head, but he wasn’t buying it and she could tell.
Eric pressed several buttons on his TSAI to open the rift he’d intended, and then Juliane leaned over, keying in 4 digits that were greyed out on the screen.
“Password accepted,” the TSAI replied.
“Really?” Eric asked her, to which Juliane smiled and shrugged.
Lightning scorched the walls and floor as a rift formed in the corridor. Oron, Harry and Juliane stepped well back; the way they’d worked together made him wonder if they were all in on it.
Eric smashed the way open, and then took Cora’s hand. He guided her through the rift and into the safer world outside.
“Why did she do that?” Cora asked, her mixed feelings apparent in her expression.
“You mean, help us?” Eric asked. “You’d have to ask her. I think she knows we’re not the enemy and that you deserve to go home.”
It took longer than Eric would’ve liked to seal the rift, but with that done, he and Cora disappeared into the shadows of Relsar’o.
Just because his ship was locked up like Fort Knox, didn’t mean it had to stay at its precise location while they were gone.
“Everything went to plan,” Thuris said, folding his arms. “A few people came sniffing around but they didn’t find anything. It was a good idea, moving her across the chasm,” the man said with a chuckle.
“And the cloaking field?” Eric asked.
“Some people will believe anything if you say it loudly enough,” he said with a wink. “I threw the blanket right over her. She blended right in.”
Cora stared at Eric, whose shrug reminded her of Juliane’s.
“What do I owe you?” Eric asked.
“It’s all part of the service,” Thuris said. “Just try not to bring any trouble my way if you can help it in future. The locals like
things the way they are, you know?”
Eric knew what he meant. The smugglers wouldn’t like their port of call revealed to the wrong folks.
“I heard what happened,” Thuris told him. “It was all over the news. Apparently, the Trines tried to wipe us out. It was bloody lucky they were caught in time.”
“You’re right about that,” Eric agreed. “Take care, my friend. We’ll catch up soon.”
As Thuris walked away, Eric turned to Cora. “I guarantee you the news was wrong and it wasn’t the Trines.”
“Who was it then?” she asked, her eyebrows rising in confusion, “and why would they lie about it?”
“That’s the question,” Eric replied with a smile. “And if we’re lucky we just might find out.”
“It was the council after all?” she asked, attempting to piece the puzzle together.
“Oh no, I’m fairly sure the High Command wasn’t behind it. Someone was and I imagine right now we’re not their favourite people.”
Chapter 22
December 2134 – Aboard the Equinox, orbiting Valtera
“So what do we know for sure?” Cora asked as she settled into her seat at the dining table.
Unlike the rest of the ship, the dining room was designed to look simple, comfortable and homely.
“We know Juliane was an intelligence agent and her husband had the clearance to make our lives a misery,” Eric said. “We know their son, Damien, is fine. He might not have been if the Event had taken place, but it seems my world is safe again.”
“I wonder what that means for us,” Cora said. “If it never happened, you never left and wouldn’t have met me.”
Eric smiled, “But it did happen, so I don’t think we need to worry about that.”
“You must’ve taken some chances with that when we were on the planet,” she said.
“Oh yes, but it all worked out. We should check the future to make sure the Event doesn’t still occur and everything’s as it should be.”
“It won’t risk ruining what we’ve already set in motion?” she asked, a little nervous at the prospect.
