Return to Bermudas Index
by wordboy
“I, a stranger and afraid,
In a world I never made.”
A.E. Housman
Antandra’s eyes snapped open and she looked around, confused. Not recognizing the room she found herself in, and the equipment that surrounded her, confirmed in her exhausted mind that what she thought was a dream really did happen.
She sat up slowly and climbed from the bed. She inhaled deeply and stretched, feeling better than she had, but still not at her best. As she stretched out the knots in her muscles, Antandra said, “Anything yet, Parsifal?”
“Not yet, Archangel. I’m scanning all temporal frequencies trying to locate Angelina.”
Antandra nodded. “Do you have a lock on Crichton’s biosigniture?”
“Yes, Archangel.”
“Good. Scan, three hundred-sixty degrees, spherical. Find him.”
“Done. He is in a chamber a few levels above us. There are also two unknown life forms with him.”
“Unknown life forms? Guide me to him.” As she started out of the chamber, Antandra checked her pistol and sword, hoping she wouldn’t have to use them.
---------------------------------------
“The Leviathan issuing the distress beacon appears to be about four arns away. We can reach it easily without going to starburst.”
John exchanged concerned looks with Aeryn. “Can you contact them, Pilot?”
“I have tried, Commander, but they are not responding.”
“Either that,” Aeryn said, “or they can’t respond. Or it’s a trap.”
John watched Pilot’s four arms dance over his console. “Any other ships in the area, Pilot?”
“No, Commander. I should tell you that Moya is very anxious to respond to the beacon.”
Aeryn watched John for a microt than turned to Pilot. “Then let’s get under way, Pilot. But have Moya be ready to starburst, just in case. Have you contacted D’Argo and the others?”
“I have tried, but they are not responding.”
“Keep trying, Pilot. Hopefully, this’ll…”
“Commander.” Pilot pointed at the den’s main door.
John turned and saw Antandra standing just inside the door, staring with wide-eyed confusion. “Oh my God,” she said. She walked forward slowly, as if in a daze. She stopped for a moment as a DRD approached her. “Parsifal, what is that?”
“It appears to be some kind of service drone, Archangel.”
“It’s called a DRD,” John said. “They take care of Moya. How do you feel?”
“Still a little weak, but better.” Antandra looked up from the DRD and stared at Pilot. “What the… Oh God, it’s true. You really are…” She sounded like she was in some kind of trance.
John couldn’t help but smile, as he remembered his own reaction to first seeing Pilot. “Yes, he ain’t human. Antandra Pandora, this is Pilot. And this is Aeryn Sun.”
As she reached the console, Antandra reached out for Pilot. With an amused tilt of his head, Pilot reached out with one arm. Gently, Antandra touched the claw. With a smile, she tightened her grip. “I never dreamed I would ever…” Her voice trailed off.
After a microt, Antandra pulled her eyes away from Pilot and looked at Aeryn. “Parsifal said there were two non-humans in here. Obviously one is your pilot. But the other…” She leaned close to Aeryn, who returned Antandra’s stare without flinching. “You’re not human?”
Aeryn’s face softened and she smiled. “Well, that’s a first. Usually John’s mistaken for a Sebacean.”
Antandra blinked. “I’m sorry, but I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”
“We can take care of that.” John turned to the nearest DRD. “Now don’t be concerned. DRD, translator microbes. You’re going to feel a little prick.” Antandra shouted in surprise and a little pain. “Okay, a big prick. Now give it a microt.”
Antandra blinked. “Parsifal?”
“There appears to be a small colony of micro-organisms settling into your brainstem. What are they, Mr. Crichton?”
“Translator microbes. They’ll enable Antandra to understand most any language you hear. A few words don’t come through, but not enough to worry about.”
“An organic translator?”
“I think they work like a Babel Fish.” In response to Antandra’s confused look, John said, “Never mind. Guess great literature didn’t make it to the seventy-eighth century. Now, Aeryn isn’t human. She’s Sebacean.”
“I see. You told Parsifal that you have no idea where we are?”
“Antandra, I couldn’t tell you if we’re on the other side of the Milky Way, somewhere in Andromeda, or on the other side of the frelling universe. All I can say is welcome to the other side of the rainbow, Dorothy.”
Antandra sighed. “Well, there’s nothing for me to do until Parsifal contacts Angelina, the master AI for the Arch System. Once he contacts her, I’ll be able to go home.”
“And if she can’t establish the connection?”
John looked wistful. “Then we’ll have another mouth to feed.”
---------------------------------------
John leaned back in his chair and watched in amazement as Antandra seemed to be trying to eat all their supplies in one sitting. “Quite an appetite you’ve got there.”
“My enhanced metabolism needs it. I burn it off almost as fast as I can eat it.” Reached for her glass of water. “You have no idea how you ended up out here?”
“I launched from the space shuttle to conduct an experiment using Earth’s gravity as a speed booster. As I got underway, a wormhole opened up, then bang…here I was. So tell me about your time. What’s Earth like in the seventy-eighth century?”
Antandra stopped eating and considered. “Earth is in the midst of great changes right now. The government is changing over from a theocracy to a constitutional democracy. The only thing that they’re sure of right now is that as a military force, the Angel Corps will continue to protect the population.”
“Well, at least you’ll still have a job. What about space travel?”
A look of sadness cross Antandra’s face. “Space travel was lost to humanity for more than twenty-five hundred years. We have a couple of orbital stations, but we don’t even have the ability to reach the Moon. The world was on the verge of a civil war in the fifty-third century, and when the theocracy was founded, it was decided to concentrate more on rebuilding the planet than traveling among the stars.”
“So humanity really hasn’t changed much. History is still a succession of wars, the strong stepping on the weak, two sides convinced they’re right and are unwilling to compromise. It’s a wonder the human race has made it to the seventy-eighth century.”
Parsifal said, “It’s a common theory in our time, Mr. Crichton, that the only way to change the human race is to accelerate evolution. Until humanity changes at its most basic level, history will continue to repeat itself.”
Antandra gently, almost affectionately patted the small unit clipped to her belt. “Parsifal’s a bit of a pragmatist. But he is essentially correct.”
John sighed in resignation. “What about this time travel system of yours?”
“All I know about it is that it was originally activated in the late forty-fifth century, and is partially of alien construction. I had been sent back to the twentieth century once to retrieve a group of terrorists who used forged credentials to get into the complex. I had gone back a second time for surveillance, to make sure I didn’t change anything that would affect the future. I was on my way back to 7781 when I ended up here.”
John nodded. “How often do people time travel?”
“My trip was the first in a few hundred years. The complex is sealed. It takes nearly an act of God to be granted access, let alone permission to use the Arch. I was only able to go through because it was in the line of duty.”
“I see.” Out of the corner of his eye, John saw Aeryn step into Central Chamber.
“John, can I talk to you for a microt?”
“Sure. Excuse me.” John stood and followed Aeryn.
Once in the corridor, Aeryn asked, “What have you found out? Is she really from Earth?”
John glanced back at the Central Chamber and shrugged. “It’s hard to tell, Aeryn. According to Jool’s examination, she’s human. What she says about history sounds like human behavior I recognize. But she’s from so far in the future that she could be making it all up. Given all that, though, I’m inclined to trust her.”
It looked to John that Aeryn expected his answer. “In that case, I hope you don’t mind if I keep a close watch on her, just to be on the safe side.”
John forced a smile onto his face. “Aeryn, I would be disappointed if you didn’t.” He turned quickly and walked away.
Aeryn watched him, then turned when she heard footsteps behind her. “You don’t trust me, do you?”
Aeryn turned and looked at Antandra, who stood in the Central Chamber’s door. “Honestly, no, I don’t. But John does, and I without question trust John.”
Antandra nodded. “I understand. It’s an intelligent warrior who doesn’t take anything at face value. From what John has said about you, you must be exceptional.”
“Well, John tends to exaggerate. Did he tell you where we’re going?”
“You’ve picked up a distress beacon and are going to investigate. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know. If I’m going to be here, I might as well be of some use.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind. We’ll reach the other Leviathan in about three and a half arns. Is there anything else you need right now?” Antandra shook his head and looked confused. “What’s the matter?”
Antandra looked a little uncertain as she asked, “What’s an arn?”
---------------------------------------
The Leviathan that was centered in Command’s main window looked as if it had been through a war. Large parts of the hull had been blasted away, and the normal brown color seemed faded almost to black. There were no lights visible.
Antandra studied the vessel, wide-eyed and fascinated. “I assume that’s not how a Leviathan’s supposed to look.”
“No. Someone’s put a beating on this one.” John stepped closer to the window and felt a sense of failure creep into his mind. We’re too late, he thought. “Pilot, anything?”
Pilot’s hologram appeared in the clamshell on the side of Command. “Nothing, Commander. There are minimal power readings and faint life signs. And I’m still not getting any response to my calls.”
Aeryn shook her head in disgust. “Why would anyone want to attack a Leviathan? Unless they were carrying something valuable…”
“Leviathans are transport vessels,” Antandra asked.
John nodded. “Yeah. Unarmed transport vessels. A Leviathan’s sole defensive ability is to starburst away.” He studied the dead vessel again. “Any sign of the ship that attacked it, Pilot?”
“Nothing, Commander.”
“I think we should go over,” Aeryn said.
“I agree.” John glanced at Antandra. “All of us. Pilot, keep Moya’s sensors at maximum range. Scream if you spot anything.”
“And keep trying to contact D’Argo and the others,” Aeryn added.
As they started from Command, Jool started whining. “Why do we have to go over there? The ship is obviously dead. And whoever did it could come back.”
Antandra glanced at Jool with a look at surprise on her face. “The best time to help someone is when then need it, whether they ask for it or not. He…Pilot…said there were faint life signs. As long as there’s a chance at finding survivors, we’re obligated to go over.”
Jool stopped walking and watched Antandra follow John and Aeryn. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “What is it with humans and Sebaceans? Do they all have a death wish?”
“What do you want,” Aeryn called back. “Peace and quiet?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. After what we just went through…”
“Enough, Jool.” John shook his head. “Great way to make a first impression,” he whispered.
