Return to Bermudas Index
by wordboy
After his microt of unconsciousness, John rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling of Command. Jool was still screaming, and he was sure the fillings in his back teeth were starting to shake lose.
“Jool! Babe! Shut the frell up!” John climbed slowly to his feet and looked around. Command looked much the same as it had when he had fallen into the portal. John saw Aeryn and Antandra lying unconscious on the floor near the place the portal once hovered.
Panic hit him immediately. “Oh God! Aeryn! Jool! Get over here!” John gently rolled Aeryn onto her back, relieved to find her breathing.
As Jool started examining Aeryn, John turned to Antandra. “Parsifal?”
“I am undamaged, John, as are Officer Sun and Archangel Pandora. They were caught in the shockwave caused by a grenade Clement detonated while in the Arch corridor. From a tactical standpoint, it was not the best move to make. The detonation temporarily destabilized the portal.”
“And what happened to him?”
Parsifal was silent for a microt. “There is no clear evidence about what happens to matter when it’s caught in such a destabilization. All I can say is, it was quick.”
John shuddered. “So he could be anywhere in time?”
“It’s unlikely he survived, John.”
Antandra moaned and pushed herself up onto her knees. “Oh, that wasn’t fun,” she said. With bleary eyes, she looked around. “We made it back to Moya?”
“How long were we gone, Pilot?”
“Only a few microts, Commander. Where did you go?”
“We all went to Earth, but I ended up about two hundred cycles in the future. Aeryn, apparently, went all the way to Antandra’s time.” John watched Jool continue to examine Aeryn. “How is she?” He heard Aeryn groan. “Never mind.”
John leaned close to Aeryn as she opened her eyes. “Hey there, Sleeping Beauty.”
Aeryn stared at him then sat up. “We made it back to Moya. Good. You do this all the time, Antandra?”
“Me? No. Once I get back to my time, I don’t plan on ever going into the Arch again. Assuming, of course, that I can get back to my own time. Parsifal?”
“According to Angelina, the destabilization of the Arch corridor was not as severe as she originally thought. She’ll have the portal re-established in about fifteen minutes.”
“Well,” Antandra said, a resigned look on her face. “I guess you’re stuck with me for a little longer.”
John helped Aeryn to her feet. “Anyone for some rasklak?”
---------------------------------------
A quarter arn later, Pilot reported the formation of the portal.
As he and Aeryn escorted Antandra back to Command, after she said goodbye to Jool, John felt his attention drift inward. He thought, So people are still people, humanity is still basically unchanged, even fifty-eight hundred cycles in the future. That’s at something to be thankful for; at least the human race doesn’t end up looking like that Alien Nation wannabe. It doesn’t sound like there’s been much improvement, but anything is better than what he represented.
They watched the portal form in the center of Command. Antandra stopped in front of it, a look of reluctance on her face. “You know, I really want to go home, but part of me wants to stay here.” She took a deep breath, then glanced back at John and Aeryn, apparently lost in thought.
“What’s the matter?”
“I was just thinking of something from Shakespeare:
Whether we shall meet again I know not.
Therefore our everlasting farewell take.
Forever, and forever, farewell John, Aeryn!
If we do meet again, why, we shall smile;
If not, why then this parting was well made.”
John frowned and thought back to his college literature classes. “Oh Christ, let’s see if I remember the rest of that.” He thought quickly, remembering the lines.
“Forever, and forever, farewell, Antandra!
If we do meet again, we’ll smile indeed;
If not, ‘tis true this parting was well made.”
Antandra nodded and glanced at the clamshell. “It was an honor to meet you, Pilot. Watch over them, please.”
“Be well, Archangel Pandora. It has been my honor to meet you.”
“Say goodbye, Parsifal.”
“Goodbye John, Officer Sun. Even though my history files don’t have a record of it, I feel certain you will eventually find your way back to Earth, John.”
“I hope so, too, Parsifal. Take care of yourselves.”
Antandra took a step toward the portal, but stopped and looked back at them. “God be with you,” she said. “God be with both of you.”
She stepped into the portal and was gone.
As the portal faded, John sighed. “So, what did you think of Earth?”
“I didn’t get to see any of it. I never left the complex that housed…houses…will house the Arch Complex. Some of them, Antandra’s husband, mother and two friends, accepted me without question, but that other man, the one who pursued us, locked me up and would have probably moved on to interrogation if Antandra hadn’t gotten me out. How about you? What did you think of where you ended up?”
John shrugged and leaned against the main console. “If the two women I met are any indication, humans in the two hundred cycles from now are more accepting.” He shrugged again.
“Did you want to stay?”
“No,” he said quickly. “No, I didn’t want to. I would have had two hundred cycles of catch-up to do. It would have been like arriving on Moya all over again. Except that I could still get my hands on chocolate.”
Though she tried to hide it from John, Aeryn felt relieved. Since Antandra had arrived, she had been afraid John would have wanted to remain on Earth, no matter what the time period.
“Besides,” he whispered, “you weren’t there. Wouldn’t have been much point to it.”
As a smile crossed her face, Aeryn stepped up behind John. “Pilot, can the DRDs handle the repairs?”
“Of course, Officer Sun. Though it is extensive, none of the damage is beyond their capabilities.”
“Good.” Aeryn stepped around to John’s side. “You know, John, I’ve been feeling rather…”
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Rather…what?”
Aeryn leaned close. “I’ve been feeling rather tense, lately.”
“Tense? Fluids getting out of balance? Can’t have that. Pilot, how long until D’Argo and the gang get back?”
“Approximately two and a half arns, Commander.”
“Good. Forget about us for at least two arns.” John smiled at Aeryn and followed her from Command. “Can I get a ‘hell yeah.” he muttered.
