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Time: Between Self-Inflicted Wounds Part II: Wait For The Wheel and Different Destinations
Part One: From A Strange And Familiar Place…
John looked around the corridor and sighed in near satisfaction. It was quiet onboard Moya, and he was determined to enjoy it. Lately, such silence was unheard of onboard the great Leviathan. They had been running non-stop since leaving the Diagnosan’s Planet, trying to stay ahead of Scorpius. Even their little rest stop on the commerce station turned into yet another life and death struggle.
Then came the Pathfinders, and Zhaan’s sacrifice…
John closed his eyes and tried to push the memories out of his mind. He knew that if he lingered on that series of events, it wouldn’t be long before the realization that it was his obsession with wormholes that lead to Zhaan’s death. That would leave him angry and depressed, and he was presently feeling too good to give in to those emotions.
He turned his mind back to the silence and looked around again. Aside from himself, only Aeryn and Jool were still onboard Moya. D’Argo, Rygel, Chiana and Stark had wanted to get off of Moya for a little while, so they had taken a transport pod to a small, inhabited planet that seemed to support some kind of tourism. They had said they’d return in a few solar days.
For her part, Jool had found herself a quiet corner and had spent the last solar day there, sulking, trying to figure out what had happened to her. John could well understand her confusion and fear. As for Aeryn, he had seen her heading for Pilot’s den, probably to simply spend time with Pilot, to make sure he was dealing with Zhaan’s loss.
John sighed and headed for his quarters. “Moya, you’re a fantastic ship, but you really could use a recreation deck.”
An amused smile crossed his face. He thought, I could use a bottle of champagne, some strawberries and some quality time with Aeryn. Hell, while I’m at it, I might as well wish for a lifetime supply of Clarke Bars.
His comm buzzed. “Commander?”
“Yes, Pilot.”
“Moya’s internal sensors are picking up anomalous reading in Command.”
Not again, he thought. “What kind of anomalous readings?”
“I’m not sure. According to the sensors, there is some kind of distortion field forming.”
John’s mind began to scream caution. “A distortion field? Is Moya all right?”
“At the moment, Moya is unaffected by the field. But that could change.”
“And given the way things have been going lately, it probably will.” It never ends, John thought. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. “All right, Pilot. I’m on my way. Is Aeryn still with you?”
“I’m already on my way, John,” Aeryn answered. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Pilot, find whatever corner Jool’s hiding in and tell her to get her tail up here.” Automatically, John checked his pulse pistol and began to run for Command.
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John slid to a stop as he ran into Command, Aeryn close behind him. For a few microts, all they could do was stare.
“What the frell…”
The field was forming in the center of Command. To John, it looked like a puddle floating in mid-air. Its surface seemed to ripple, but John could see through it. Whatever the field was, it was completely silent.
“Oh, that’s really bad for the eyes,” he said.
As Aeryn took up position to cover him and the field, John slowly approached the field. “Pilot, any change in the readings?”
“The internal sensors are not picking up any change, Commander. The area immediately around the field seems to have ceased to exist, but the rest of Command is unaffected.”
Aeryn stepped closer. “Pilot, can you locate the point of origin of this field?”
“No, Officer Sun. It seems to have simply materialized. Moya’s long range sensors aren’t picking up anything that could be causing it.”
John raised his hands and tried to touch the field. His hands stopped before reaching it. “Well, we can look, but we can’t touch.” He backed up a few steps and shook his head. “I don’t know, Aeryn. I’m stumped.”
“Maybe we should…John!”
The ripple effect seemed to increase, as the field began to glow with a soft white light. John backed up, drew his pulse pistol and felt himself begin to tense. The light grew brighter, until John and Aeryn could no longer look at it.
When the light faded, John found the field had disappeared. In its place stood a woman. She was taller than John, but not quite as tall as D’Argo. Her black hair was straight, shoulder length. She was dressed in a close fitting jumpsuit, two-tone gray in color, a black leather jacket over this. A large, deadly looking pistol was holstered on her right leg, but it was the long sword that hung from her left hip that attracted John’s attention. A series of pouches, compartments and what looked like a cell phone lined her belt.
“Well, that’s one way to make an entrance.”
The woman inhaled sharply and took a step forward. Her hands went to her head and she seemed to be in pain. She began to mutter something under her breath that neither John nor Aeryn could hear. After a few microts, she looked up. As John stared into her ice blue eyes, the woman said, “Where am I?”
Aeryn took a few steps forward, her pistol never wavering. “Who are you, and where did you come from?”
She looked at Aeryn, her frown deepening. “What did you say? I can’t understand you. Parsifal, where am I?” She turned her head slightly, and seemed to listen to something only she could hear.
John glanced back at Aeryn. “Hang on a microt, Aeryn.” There was something about the woman, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He stepped closer and held up his hands.
The woman looked at him, then shook her head. “What do you mean, I’m on a starship? How can I be on a starship? Why didn’t we make it to Tempe? I swear I’m never going through the Arch again.”
John’s eyes went wide. “Tempe? As in Tempe, Arizona?”
“Of course Tempe, Arizona. Where else…you speak English? Late twentieth century-early twenty-first century dialect? Then I must not have made it out of your century. But why am I on a starship?”
“Who are you?”
The woman looked weak and stepped back to lean on the chart table. “My name is Antandra Pandora. I’m an Archangel assigned to the Heaven’s Gate complex in Ottawa.”
John felt his heart begin to race, and for a microt he couldn’t speak. Aeryn stepped up behind him. “John?”
“Aeryn, she’s from Earth. I don’t recognize a couple of the things she’s mentioned, but unless there’s another Tempe, Arizona and Ottawa, Ontario out here…”
Antandra staggered, then dropped to her knees. As John rushed to her, she whispered, “I have to get out of here. Mathias will be…” Her voice trailed off and she slumped into John’s arms.
John glanced down at her, then looked up at Aeryn. “She’s from Earth,” he said quietly.
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John watched as Jool examined Antandra. Hope and fear were battling for control in his mind. That she apparently came from Earth made him think that maybe, just maybe, he had found the way home. That her clothing was some kind of uniform for a service he didn’t recognize, along with her sudden appearance in Command, filled him with suspicion that this might be another elaborate trick on the part of Scorpius.
“Well?”
Jool looked up and sighed. “I don’t recognize her species. However, since you believe she comes from your world, I compared her life signs to yours. There are a few minor differences, but they are close enough. She is human.”
“Minor differences?” John walked up to the bed. “What kind of minor differences?”
“Well, if I’m right, there are signs of extensive genetic engineering. She probably has some kind of enhanced physical abilities. There is also a small transceiver fused to her brain.”
“A transceiver? It looked like she was talking to herself for a microt there in Command. Could she have been talking to someone else?”
“She was talking to me.” The male voice came from the small device clipped to Antandra’s belt.
John leaned close. “Her cell phone?”
“I’m not a cell phone. My name is Parsifal. I’m an Aegis Class Artificial Intelligence, neurolinked directly to Archangel Pandora’s mind. If I may ask, how is the Archangel’s condition?”
“Jool says that all she needs is a good night’s sleep. Look…Parsifal, was it? Can you answer a few questions?”
“If you can answer a few questions of my own.”
“Deal.”
Jool started for the door. “I’ll leave the two of you to get acquainted.”
Aeryn stopped her in the corridor. “What’s her condition? And is she really human?”
“She’ll be fine after she gets some rest. And yes, she’s as human as Crichton. Maybe he’ll be able to go home.”
Aeryn watched Jool walk away, a sense of uncertainty coming over her. “Yeah, maybe he will. And maybe that’s not a good thing.” She inhaled deeply and stepped into the chamber.
John was leaning over the woman’s unconscious form, apparently talking to himself. “Having visions of Scorpius again?”
He looked back at her. “No, Aeryn. Antandra here has a self-aware computer linked to her mind. He has a few questions. Now, Parsifal, you were saying?”
“My first question, Mr. Crichton, is basic. Where are we?”
“Well, you’re onboard a living ship named Moya. As to where, specifically, you are, I still haven’t figured that out yet. I don’t recognize Antandra’s uniform, and there was no artificial intelligence when I left Earth.”
“The Archangel’s uniform is the standard uniform for the Angel Corps. The Aegis Class Artificial Intelligence has been in use since mid-7618…”
“What?” John leaned close, the confusion that raged in his mind getting steadily worse. “7618? The year 7618? What year are you and Antandra from?”
“7781. Why?”
John straightened and stepped away from the bed. The confusion was beginning to give way to a sense of defeat. “Parsifal, I took off from Earth in 1997.”
The computer was quiet for a moment. “Oh my.”
“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.”
Aeryn came up next to him. “John? What’s the matter?”
John closed his eyes and sighed. “She’s from the future, Aeryn. Nearly fifty-eight hundred cycles in the future.” Someone is having way too much fun at my expense, he thought.
Antandra moaned and opened her eyes. “Mr. Crichton?”
“You can call me John. How long have you been awake?”
“I just woke up. Parsifal told me about the year. I’m still in the past.”
John nodded. “It would seem so. When you’re feeling better, you’ll have to explain to me how you travel through and space.”
“I don’t understand it myself. I’m just a soldier.”
“Can you at least tell me when…”
Their comms beeped. “Commander, Officer Sun?”
John ground his teeth and tried not to let his frustration show. “You really have to work on your timing, Pilot,” he whispered. Louder, he said, “What’s up, Pilot?”
“Can you come here, please? Moya is picking up a distress beacon.”
Aeryn watched John, wondering what was running through his mind. “Can you tell what kind of ship issued the beacon?”
“It appears to be another Leviathan.”
That got John’s attention. “All right, Pilot. We’ll be right up.” John massaged his eyes and shook his head. “Aeryn, you ever get the feeling you were in a bad short story based on a television show?” He expected the puzzled look he saw on Aeryn’s face. “Never mind. Get some rest, Antandra. We’ll talk later.”
Antandra nodded and watched John and Aeryn leave. She sighed and looked around the room. “Parsifal, have you tried to contact Angelina?”
“I’m scanning all frequencies, Archangel.”
“While you’re at it, check your history files. See if you can find anything on this John Crichton.” Antandra closed her eyes and felt herself slip into unconsciousness.
