Return to Bermudas Index
by wordboy
“Time is but a stream I go a-fishing in.”
Henry David Thoreau
Antandra peeked around the corner and considered the guard stationed outside the single occupied cell in the block. He stared straight ahead, his eyes never leaving the wall in front of him. Antandra could hear Aeryn pacing, her angry footsteps echoing through the deserted block.
A quiet beeping came from her belt. Antandra unclipped her comm and picked up. As a hologram of Mathias formed above it, she said, “What do you have for me, Mathias?”
“I just heard from Zoe and Doctor Graff. Angelina has located Parsifal, though she hasn’t established a comm channel yet.”
Antandra sighed in relief. “Thank God. Where are they?”
“They are on Earth, but in the late twenty-second century. March 17, 2190, to be exact.”
“Well, it won’t take any convincing to get John to go back to Moya. That’s two hundred years after his time. He certainly won’t want to stay. Anyone have a clue as to how to get them?”
“Doctor Graff has an idea for collecting Parsifal and Crichton, then returning them to their own time and space.”
“Angelina figured out the spatial coordinates?”
“No, but in scanning the temporal coordinates, she established a location. The reason there weren’t any spatial coordinates is that this ship of theirs is so far out of known space that any coordinates would be meaningless.”
“I see.” Antandra glanced around the corner again. The guard still hadn’t moved. “I’m going to get Aeryn out, then head over to the Arch chamber. Tell Doctor Graff to be ready.”
“I’ll run as much interference for you as I can. Security will be everywhere but near you. Take care.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you, too. Good luck.” The hologram faded out, and Antandra returned the comm to her belt.
Antandra drew her pistol. “Safety off, high stun.” As the weapon acknowledged her command, she stepped around the corner, aimed and fired. The guard’s body stiffened before he dropped to the floor.
Antandra jogged to the cell and looked through the security field blocking the door. Aeryn stared back at her, her face a hard mask. “I’ll have you out of there in a minute, Aeryn. Then we can get you back to your own time.”
“Give me a good reason while I should trust you.” Aeryn’s voice was ice.
With a growl of frustration, Antandra took a step closer to the door. “Aeryn, up until now, have I given you any reason not to trust me? Didn’t I save your life onboard Rhianda? If I wanted to betray you in any way, don’t you think I would have left you to the mob?” Antandra quickly searched guard for the key to the field.
Aeryn watched Antandra deactivate the field, but didn’t move toward the open door. “Aeryn, Angelina has a lock on Parsifal. I’m assuming John is still with him. Angelina is working on establishing communications. Doctor Graff has an idea for returning you and John to Moya. I’m going to get you home, Aeryn.”
It was another minute before Aeryn nodded. “Where’s my equipment?”
Antandra relaxed. “Probably in the office down the hall. Let’s go.”
The two guards in the office didn’t have a chance to react before Antandra stunned them. Aeryn considered the unconscious guards for a moment, then started searching for her pulse pistol. “Are they dead?”
“No, of course not. They’re only doing their jobs. Mathias will smooth them over. Here we go.” Antandra began to reach into a small locker, but stopped before she touched the pistol. “There isn’t any security built into it, is there?”
“No.” Aeryn took the pistol and checked it over quickly. “Now, you said you were going to get me home?”
“We have to get John first. He and Parsifal are in the twenty-second century, almost fifty-six hundred years ago. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get to him first then continue on to Moya.” Antandra considered the pulse pistol. “I don’t suppose that has a stun setting.”
“No.”
“Then if you have to return fire, shoot to injure. Now, let’s go.”
---------------------------------------
John leaned forward and rested his head on his crossed arms. He still wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting in the interrogation room. An empty coffee cup sat in front of him, next to a ripped open candy wrapper. Well, if nothing else, he thought, at least I got some chocolate. John inhaled deeply and let his eyes slip shut. He began to drift off to sleep…
His eyes snapped open as Parsifal said, “John, I’ve re-established contact with Angelina!”
“Great, Parsifal.” He glanced at Alexa, who watched him with her head tilted to the right. “Looks like I’ll be going home, soon.”
“Looks like it,” Alexa said. “Just when I was having so much fun.”
“John, Officer Sun wants to talk to you.” After a moment, Aeryn’s voice came from Parsifal’s speakers. “John, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Aeryn. A little pissed off with God, Fate or whatever’s frelling with my life, but otherwise, I’m fine. Hang on a minute.” John glanced up as Carly stepped back into the interrogation room. “This is Aeryn Sun, one of my friends. She’s Sebacean; looks perfectly human, but not exactly. Where are you, Aeryn?”
“I’m on Earth, John, but in Antandra’s time. Apparently, humans are more paranoid than you’ve let on.”
“Must be you, Aeryn. I’m the paranoid one here. So, when are they going to get us out of here?”
“Angelina’s working on reestablishing the portal now, John,” Antandra said. “Go up to…”
There was the sound of angry voices in the background, as if two groups of people were arguing with each other. “Everything all right up there?”
“Fine, John. Fine. Why do you ask?” There was the sound of gunfire.
“Oh, no reason.” John could hear Aeryn yelling at someone, telling them to get down and stay out of her way. “When can I expect you to be here?”
“We’ll be there in…by your reckoning, a few minutes.” More gunfire. “God damn it! Safety off! Stun!” There was a burst of static, then silence.
“Aeryn! Antandra!”
“The communications connection has been cut, John. However, my data link with Angelina is still intact. The Arch system has been activated. The portal is in the process of forming.”
John managed to relax a little. “Where?”
Parsifal was silent for a moment. “We have to get to the roof.”
---------------------------------------
John found himself shifting nervously from foot to foot as the elevator stopped on the roof of the building. As the doors parted, he stepped out and looked around. Around him, the city of Oneonta glittered in the night. He stared for a moment, then looked up into the night sky. “It may not be my time,” he muttered, “but at least I got back to Earth for a little while.”
“There it is,” Carly said, pointing into the darkness. John looked in the indicated direction and growled in frustration.
The portal had formed in mid-air above the roof.
Alexa leaned over the edge and frowned. “I’d guess it’s about three meters.”
“Correct, Agent Sinclair,” Parsifal said. “I don’t suppose you can jump that high, John.”
John looked and winced. “Maybe with a good trampoline.” He shook his head and wondered if someone was doing this to him on purpose.
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Carly said. “I should be able to…”
Aeryn appeared in the portal. She leaned forward, looked around, then turned her gaze downward. She saw John, smiled in relief. “You’re looking well, John.”
“Yeah, good to see you, too, Aeryn. I hope you have a plan.”
“Of course I do. And unlike your plans, this one will work.”
Antandra leaned out. “Hello, John. Did you enjoy your time here in your future?”
“Oh yeah. They have a nice interrogation room here. The plan is…?”
“You get up here, then we head back to Moya, then I go home.” Antandra noticed Carly and Alexa standing next to John. “Saint Caralynn…Saint Alexandra…” She saw the confused looks on their faces then shook her head. “Never mind. Agent Adrasteia, you should be able to boost John up to us.”
Carly stared at Antandra for a minute longer, then nodded. “Alexa, you ever feel like you’ve missed a plot point or two?” She sighed. “Do you have a problem with motion sickness, John?”
“I was a test pilot before I became an astronaut.”
“Oh good.” Carly took hold of John’s vest and lifted him up. She tossed him up to the portal with ease.
As Aeryn and Antandra pulled him into the portal, John looked back at Carly. “Another lady who takes her vitamins.”
Antandra looked down at Carly. “She’s enhanced, just like me. Actually, I’m enhanced, just like her.” She watched the two agents for another minute then stepped away from the portal. “All right. Close this portal.”
On the roof, Carly and Alexa watched the two dark haired women help John into the portal. The taller one stared at them for a minute before she backed into the portal.
As the portal closed, Carly looked at Alexa. “How about we never mention this to anyone, Alexa.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.”
---------------------------------------
As they made their way through the white corridor, John asked, “So, Aeryn, what did you think of Earth?”
“Oh it was a wonderful experience,” Aeryn said. “They have nice cells.”
“Cells?”
“Don’t ask, John,” Antandra said. “There are a few…”
“Excuse me, Archangel, but we may still have problems. Someone else has entered the Arch.”
Antandra glanced down at the portable, once again clipped to her belt. “Let me guess, Parsifal. It’s Clement?”
“Yes. From what Angelina is telling me, he took it upon himself to follow you and Officer Sun into the Arch.”
“How long before he reaches us?” The sound of gunfire reached them. “That soon?” Antandra glanced back and saw Clement, his black uniform standing out against the white corridor. His weapon was drawn and he was firing without aiming.
As they started running, Antandra said, “Parsifal, how close are we to Moya?”
“We’re almost there, Archangel.”
“Tell Angelina to collapse the portal as soon as we’re through. That should stop Clement.”
Parsifal considered for a minute. “Stop him? Yes. He’ll also be lost in time, unable to re-enter the time stream.”
“The lesser of two evils, Parsifal. He’s not going to listen to reason.”
John wasn’t sure how long they had been running. “What’s this guy’s problem?”
“He’s the one who locked me up,” Aeryn said. “He apparently he doesn’t like the fact that I’ve escaped.”
“Life’s a bitch.” The portal appeared in front of them. “Here we go!”
Just as they reached the portal, something exploded behind them. A shockwave hit John and sent him tumbling. The whiteness faded, replaced by the soothing, dim light of Command. John landed badly, and his head slammed against the deck.
The last thing John heard before unconsciousness was Jool’s screaming. “Oh shut the hell up,” he said. Then there was darkness.
