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Time's Arrow
By Sage182
It was just another ordinary day on the Christa. One of the very
few ordinary days the crew had had in recent memory. They seemed
to get into trouble on a weekly basis.
Bova was sleeping, and Suzee and Rosie were gossiping in
the girl's bunkroom. Goddard was watching the command post, and
Ms. Davenport...well, she was in her quarters, doing whatever it is that
teachers do in their spare time.
Which left the team room to Harlan and Radu. The two of
them were catching up on their Minbar chess, and as usual, the
Earther was winning.
Harlan paused a moment to think over his next move. In
doing so, he was distracted by the thought of his opponent, and he
marveled at the change that had come over his thoughts in the past
year. He no longer hated Radu the way he had once. It used to be
that he couldn't stand even to think of him. But his mind had very
slowly changed itself without informing him of the transformation.
One day he had gone to yell at the Andromedan, and to his
shock, found that he had neither the heart, nor the anger for it.
And now Harlan was sitting there, playing chess with the
representative of a race he had once hated with all his soul.
If only Radu weren't so darn nice all the time, Harlan thought
ruefully. Then he grinned and moved his chess piece, in order to once
again beat his best friend.
"What's that?" asked Radu, staring out the window.
"Aw, yeah right, like I'm gonna fall for that one!" Harlan
laughed, but looked out the window anyway.
He gasped. A bright light hurtled toward them. It appeared to
be a massive shockwave, circling outward from an unknown source.
"What in the-" he had time to utter, before the shockwave was upon
them. It flooded the room, it flooded the ship.
And then it passed. Where the Christa had been, there was
nothing. No Harlan, no Radu, and no Christa, for that matter.
The golden light flew onward, continuing throughout the
universe.
Surola Elmira awoke with a start, a name ringing through her
head. Radu!!! her mind had cried, before she reached
consciousness. Radu? she wondered. Who is that?
Something was very wrong, she could sense it. Elmira was
out of bed and dressed before she stopped to wonder what exactly
that was.
What should she do? Perhaps she should tell Father. She
told him everything. Even what would happen before it actually did.
Elmira knitted her brow in confusion. She didn't tell Shank
everything. She hated him. She'd never help him do anything.
This was very odd. Her memories were conflicting, circling
each other, hinting at their own existence, and then vanishing back
into the depth of her subconscious. It was strange, and she
wondered fleetingly whether she was losing her mind.
Finally, she resolved to find out just what was going on. She
strode out of her room, past her Andromedan sentries, and into the
hall.
Her hidden memories screamed at her that this was wrong.
She spun to face the guards, and tried desperately to drag the truth
from her mind. The Andromedans shouldn't be here. They ought to
be Spung warriors, and they...they shouldn't have let her out of her
room at all.
Not let me out of my own room? she wondered,
somewhat haughtily. I am a Surola, royal daughter of The Great
Conqueror himself. They wouldn't dare to lock me up. I foresee the
victories of the Spung Empire, I-
Am a traitor to the Spung Empire, spoke a different
voice. She shook her head and realized that she was staring at her
slave guardians. They were looking distinctly uncomfortable.
She immediately apologized, then cursed herself. She didn't
apologize to slaves. A surola didn't apologize to anyone. Indeed, the
guards looked as if they were wondering if she was in her right mind.
She certainly couldn't disagree with them.
Elmira walked away from them quickly, trying to think, to feel,
to understand. What was going on?
Harlan Band watched calmly as the slaves were loaded onto
his ship. As each one passed him, he made sure to note their race,
approximate age, and health. When he found these things to be
satisfactory, he nodded to their keeper, and paid him the promised
amount of credits.
Harlan then herded his cargo to an open freight bay, where
they would stay until delivery. If he felt any qualms about this task, he
had long ago learned to hide them. He just reminded himself that it
was every man for himself in this messed-up galaxy. You had to look
out for yourself and your family ahead of everything and everyone
else. That was a lesson he had learned a long time ago, when the
ongoing Spung Wars had taken his father, and then his mother away
from him, before he was ten years old.
Never again, he promised himself. Harlan's mother
had heard of the great devastation the wars had caused on other
planets, and felt the need to help. She was a doctor, and had
always taught him to care for those weaker than himself. And look
what that had gotten her. She had ventured away from the safe haven
of Earth, leaving her son with old friends. But the spaceways were not
safe for travelers. Her small vessel had never made it to Mercury.
"You look like you're thinking serious thoughts," came a
teasing voice from behind him. Harlan turned slowly, knowing who he
would see.
His guess confirmed by a glance, he immediately grinned at
his girlfriend. "Took you long enough, Rainbow-head," he jibed. He
hugged her sideways across the shoulders to show that he was
kidding.
To call Catalina his girlfriend would be a gross
understatement. She was his best friend, his co-pilot, his family. She
was the only person in the universe he trusted completely.
Her parents had been taken from her when she was very
young. She'd gotten separated from them during one of the massive
attacks the Spung had sent against Saturn.
They'd had to take her siblings and run from the planet. She herself
had barely gotten out alive.
Catalina and Harlan were both orphans, their parents
casualties of a war who's end was long overdue. They'd met years
ago, both alone in the world, and they'd stuck together ever since. If
Harlan had believed in such things, he would have called it fate.
The two of them owned a small cargo vessel. Of course,
hauling cargo wasn't exactly profitable these days, so they'd gone into
the smuggling racket.
At the moment, that racket happened to include the transport
of formerly Spung-owned slaves, stolen and sold to new owners. It
was their job to take them from seller to buyer. Though neither one of
them enjoyed this particular task much, it was the only work available
right now.
"C'mon, Harlan, we're loaded up. Let's go already, this place
gives me the creeps!" Catalina urged.
"I'm commin', I'm commin'," he grumbled, then followed her
onto the ship. They powered up the ship, and left the slave station,
with a cargo bay full of slaves.
Elmira lay in bed, grinding her teeth and trying to find some
answers within herself.
As her flashes of memory had increased, so had her
frustration. It felt like she had two separate lives, two separate
identities. One was imperious, haughty, and sure of the
righteousness of the Spung Empire. The other had been seeded with
doubt, wasn't sure that the Empire was righteous at all. One had been
pampered, coddled, and respected. The other had been harassed,
ignored, and locked up. One felt the love of her father, the other was
afraid of him.
It was all so very confusing.
Elmira knew what it was that would give her the answers.
She just wasn't sure she had the patience for it. With a sigh, she
settled down for a meditation. She breathed deeply, cast her mind out
of herself, and into the universe.
Right away, she could sense nothing. But as the hours
passed, visions came to her, as she knew they would.
When many, many hours had passed, she finally felt as if she
had some of the answers she was searching for. Rather than cheer
her, however, these distressed her more. Because now she knew
what she had to do, and it scared her more than anything ever had, in
either lifetime.
Radu 386 glared out the portside viewscreen. It was not the
screen that disturbed him, however. What troubled him was the ships
that it continued to reveal.
"Sir," came a voice from his side. "Our sensors are picking up
another vessel." Although the voice belonged to a boy several years
older than himself, he managed to look incredibly nervous.
Radu sighed. Lately, most people had been slightly afraid of
him. Ever since he'd taken command of the rebellion, he'd been sort
of...apart from everyone else. Between the loneliness and the
constant danger, he felt as if he were coming apart at the seams. If it
wasn't for Rose, his second in command, he probably would have
cracked.
The 'rebellion' was an ever growing group of people dedicated
to ridding the universe of the Spung evil. It was made up of beings
from all walks of life. Some were ex-slaves, taken from their homes to
fill the vast Spung army. Others had their homes taken from them,
their planets terraformed to suit Spung colonies. Some were young,
some old. One thing they all shared, though, was the need to fight for
their freedom.
At the moment, they were blockading an asteroid field.
They'd gotten word of a major slave transport, occurring this week.
Radu knew that they were doing a great deal of good here, but as
leader, he could not board ships directly. It was his duty not to
endanger himself unnecessarily. Still, it was frustrating.
"Ship is approaching fast. She sees us, sir."
"Understood," he responded. "Prepare to attack."
The ship turned, powered up its weapons, then came about
again. It flew up next to Radu's ship, coming within a few yard of
them. Then it expertly flew out of the way, turned around and fired on
them. It was a small ship, with no truly powerful weapons, but it was
still disconcerting.
"Whoever they are, they're good," Radu admitted. "Take out
engines and weapons systems. I don't have to remind you how
important it is not to harm the prisoners inside." The slavers may be
good, but they were no match for a full-sized starship. With two short
blasts, the small ship was down.
This was it. Radu was tired of doing nothing. One little
boarding party couldn't be that dangerous. "Tell Ianni to meet me on
that ship. I'm going aboard."
Catalina tried frantically to fix the engines, but she knew it
was no use. They were gone, and no one would be flying this ship
anytime soon without a major overhaul. She sighed, then looked up
to give Harlan the bad news. Taking a look at his face, however, she
could see that he already knew.
"I guess this is it, then," she whispered. "They'll be here any moment."
"Looks that way," he answered.
"We both knew it would happen sooner or later."
"Cat, there's so many things I need to tell you-"
"I know Harlan. I know." She hugged him tightly, not ever
wanting to let go.
Their tender moment was interrupted by a loud clanging
noise, presumably the hatch being pulled off. It was followed by the
sound of loud footsteps, and then the rebels burst into the room.
Harlan immediately jumped in front of Catalina, a habit she
had always found irritating. She shoved him out of the way.
The leader orded, "Surrender, and you will not be harmed."
They didn't move, uncertain of what to do. They had expected
to be killed on sight.
The apparent leader, an Andromedan boy, approached them.
"Put down your weapons immediately."
Cat was about to tell him where he could stick his weapons,
when a shimmering light took form in the corner. It became
increasingly solid, and cleared. In it's place stood a young, female
Spung.
Everyone present stood in shock for a moment.
Unfortunately, the Andromedan recovered first. With a cry of
rage, he rushed toward the girl. The look on his face was one of
raw fury.
Thinking fast, Catalina let loose a sonic scream that blasted
him in the opposite direction.
Harlan ran over to the boy's side. "What did you do that for?"
he asked, incredulously.
The Andromedan looked at him as if he were crazy. "She's a
Spung!" And not just any Spung, I've seen holos of her. That's the
Surola herself, the single most important reason that the rebellion can
do so very little damage. She knows our plans before we do." He
hoisted himself onto his feet.
"Squad, take the Surola to our cruise ship."
"Wait!" the girl finally spoke. "I've come a long way to talk to
you. I allowed myself to be captured. You owe me at least the
chance to speak." Elmira was getting a little desperate. This wasn't
going at all like she had planned.
"We owe you nothing, Spung." Her heart sank at this, but it
soared again at his next words. "Still, never let it be said that the
rebellion is close-minded. Go ahead."
"Thank you, Radu." At his surprise, she added, "You see, I
know your name, something the imperial intelligence would dearly
love to possess. And I know that you are the leader of this rebellion. I
know a great many things about you." She gestured to Catalina and
Harlan. "I know you too. We've met before."
"I never laid eyes on you 'till five minutes ago!" complained
Harlan, the sentiment quickly followed by Radu and Catalina.
"Well, we haven't met before, precisely. It's more as if...we
should have."
At that moment, a young Mercurian entered. "Radu, we're-"
She stopped, staring at Elmira. "What's that doing here?"
The girl had the face of one accustomed to smiling, but it was
clear she hadn't done so in the past few years. At the moment, that
face was contorted by rage.
Her name suddenly came into Elmira's mind. "Rosie?"
The Mercurian glowered at her. "My name is Rose. Rosie
Ianni died the day your people killed my parents."
"Ianni," Radu interrupted. "Shouldn't you be instructing the
new recruits in the cargo hold?"
She straightened, her attitude instantly becoming one of
professionalism. "Yes sir, I've finished. They've elected a speaker to
talk with you." She gestured to a previously unnoticed Uranian boy.
At this, the boy stepped forward. "We, as Uranian people
would like to discuss the rationing of food, should we choose to join
you," he said, as if by rote. It was clear that he'd memorized his
speech ahead of time. "And-."
"Listen, eat whatever you want," Radu interrupted. We really
don't have time for this."
He looked back to Elmira, gesturing for her to continue.
"You aren't going to believe what I'm about to say, but please
listen anyway."
She took a deep breath, and then began. "This war, this
rebellion, all of us, we're not supposed to exist. At least, not
like this.
Not if history continued the way it was supposed to. Someone went
back in time and changed things. And I'm the only one who
remembers the way things should be."
"Why should we believe you?" Radu skepticised.
"Because you have no choice. If you are the great leader your
people claim, then you would take any opportunity you can to save
them. In the original timeline, the Andromedans
were freed many years ago. Mercurians and Uranians and Centurions
and their like were never enslaved at all."
"What exactly caused the timeline to change?" Rose asked.
"Assuming we believe you, of course," she added hastily, with a
sideways glance at Radu.
Elmira launched into her story. "In the original timeline, a space
pirate named Reaver stole a time traveling device. He used it to go
back in time and murder his longtime nemesis, Commander Seth
Goddard, at a point when he was young and defenseless. This set off
a chain of events resulting the way things are now.
"The Domino effect," Catalina remembered aloud. She
blushed when they all turned to look curiously at her. "It's a theory I've
heard about," she explained. "They say a butterfly beating it's wings
on one side of the Earth can cause a tornado on the other side. This
'commander's'existence must have been necessary for that timeline to
exist.
He did something during his lifetime that affected the entire universe.
Without him, it crumbled."
"Even if what you say is true, what can we do about it?" Radu
asked. "We don't a device like that."
"Actually," Elmira hesitated. "We do."
They were all stunned into silence for a moment, before
simultaneously breaking into a flurry of speech.
"SHUT UP!!!" Harlan shouted. They complied, sheepishly.
"Thank you. Now, what do you mean, we have a time machine?"
"I mean, I stole it from my father before I left. It's a new
prototype taken from one of the races we conquered. You can use it
to go back in time and stop him."
"Why are you doing this? The way things are right now, your
people practically rule the universe. Projections show that the UPP
could fall in a matter of months. And to be honest, the rebellion isn't
going to well either. We fail battle after battle, and every time we lose
more fighters," Radu admitted angrily.
"Well, I...to tell the truth, I'm not exactly sure. In my entire
life, I never once doubted in the magnificence of the Empire. Now, I
don't know what to believe. But I do know that this is the right thing
to do."
Elmira looked as if she were ready to cry.
Radu felt very odd suddenly. He knew that she was an
enemy, member of a race he had hated for as long as he could
remember, someone that he spent each and everyday fighting.
Yet he couldn't prevent the wave of sympathy that suddenly swept
over him. And the total trust of the fact that she was telling the truth.
It was weird, but he had learned long ago to trust his instincts. "All
right, I'll help you. Send me back."
"Are you crazy? She can't possibly be trusted," Rose asked
incredulously.
"She does has a point, though. I have no choice. If there's
even a small chance of keeping this from happening, I have to try."
"I'm going too," Catalina proclaimed.
"No way, Cat, you could get killed!" Harlan protested.
"Besides, things aren't bad right now. We don't know how things'll be
in this other reality. We don't even know if we're together there." He
looked to Elmira hopefully.
She shook her head with sorrow.
"You see! There's nothing for us there."
"Harlan, we can't deny an entire universe it's freedom for our
happiness. You can choose to go or stay, but I'm going to do what's
right."
He sighed, looked pleadingly at her, and said at last, "Then I'm coming too."
She squeezed his hand once, and looked sideways at him,
smiling gratefully. For all her brave words, she had been fearful of
going on without him.
Then she turned her attention back to Elmira. "What do we
have to do?"
"Wait at minute," Rose interrupted, "Aren't you going, Surola?"
"No. In the era you're going back to, no one's ever heard of
the Spung. Your people and mine won't be due to meet for another
twenty-four years. I wouldn't exactly blend in."
Rose realized that that was obvious, and blushed even redder.
Still, she realized the flaw to that plan. "I still don't trust her. If
she's staying, somebody's got to watch her. I volunteer."
Harlan looked to Radu uneasily. "Are you sure she can
handle this on her own?" he whispered. "She's kinda small."
Overhearing, she answered vehemently, "I can take her. One
wrong move and wham! A couple of good heat blasts and there'll be
one less Spung in the universe." She smiled at Elmira in a manner
that made her distinctly uncomfortable.
"If anyone can keep us safe, it'd be Rose," Radu answered
reassuringly.
"And besides," came a voice from over his shoulder, "She
won't be alone. I can help too." Radu turned, to find the Uranian boy
standing there. In all the excitement, he'd forgotten all about him.
"The name's Bova. Please, let me do something." He looked
at them pleadingly, and Radu found that he couldn't say no.
"So the three of us will go, Ianni and the Uranian will stay and
watch the Surola. Everyone okay with that?"
They nodded their acceptance.
Elmira transported the time device onboard, and they
prepared to leave.
"How will you know when we need to come back?"
questioned Harlan.
"I can set up a temporary mindlink between myself and Radu.
If you'll permit me?" she asked him.
"You won't be able to read my personal thoughts, will you?"
She shook her head.
"Then go ahead."
Elmira placed a small device on his temple, then an identical
one on her own. She concentrated for a moment, willing the device to
activate. Radu felt a brief moment of disorientation, and then it was
done.
She focused her thoughts at him. Can you hear me?
Radu heard her. He tried to respond, failing several times
before getting the knack of it. I hear you, he responded.
Caught up in the excitement of his success, he smiled at Elmira.
She smiled back hesitantly. He immediately straightened and
wiped the smile from his face. "Are we ready to go, then?"
Elmira activated the device. Amazingly enough, though it
contained the awesome power to transcend time, it was small enough
to be carried by a single person.
The machine shot a beam of light against the nearest wall.
The wall itself twisted, a gash forming in it, a rip in the fabric of
space-time.
"Quickly, please," Elmira requested. "It won't last long."
Harlan and Cat stared into the portal, then looked at each
other. They seemed to come to a silent agreement, nodding at once.
They linked hands and dove into the portal.
Radu approached his second. "Goodbye Rose. Wish us
luck."
"I don't believe in luck, Radu," she responded. "But I do
believe in you." She smiled crookedly, and gave his shoulder a quick
squeeze.
Radu turned, and followed the others across time.
"Goodbye, my friend," she whispered after him. "May you
save us all."
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