“Then, you’re the same as us, again, Frank,” Gerry smugly commented.
“Not quite,” Frank replied, briefly smiling at Gerry while mentally reminding him of their agreement not to peep into each other’s minds.
Anton finally sat back in the pilot’s seat and scanned the area around the Timeship.
“They’re all gone. Not a Varon ship in sight,” Anton informed them, sounding very happy.
“Then, theoretically, we must have done enough to stabilize the Timeline,” Susanna ventured.
“I hope so,” Cindy agreed.
“So, how can we check if the timeline is back on course and close enough for us all to survive?” Charlotte asked.
“Easy,” Anton pointed out. “I can just tell the secondary matrix to search beyond 2773. Say, generally around 2800.”
“Don’t we have to be in the time-shaft to search Uptime past Delta?” Gerry asked Anton.
“Yes. But that only applies if we are searching for a certain date. Even so. it’ll tell me if there’s nothing up there.”
“Then check it, Anton,” Cindy urged.
“On it.”
Four minutes later, and the matrix displayed its findings.
Anton studied it and said, “It’s a bit crammed on this screen,” apologizing for the lack of clarity.
Then pointed to a thin bright green colored thread, which seemed to disappear into the distance, with dates populated along its length.
“This line here, that’s the time shaft extending upward,” he said and touched the end of the green thread.
Then pointed to the dates scrolled along the green thread.
“See there, it’s passed 2800. In fact, it’s still moving Uptime.” And everyone studied it for a moment.
“So, that proves we’ve saved the day,” Gerry said.
“Looks that way,” Anton agreed.
“Great. That’s alright then. Well, Frank, how about getting us all back to our own timelines, and our children,” Charlotte asked.
“Well, we’re in 2330, the correct time period. So, if we go back to the start of Ronin’s warp thread, we won’t be far off.”
“Then I suggest that we do just that. In the hope that by the time we get there, Frank has some idea of how to accomplish it,” Cindy ventured.
“That’s fine with me,” Frank acknowledged. While not knowing if Carn had only meant 2725.
But, even so, Carn had said ‘we’ll find the Timeship, no matter what time period it’s in.’
“In that case, let’s get into our Inertia damping seats now, and well start the five-day trip back to the start of Ronin’s warp thread,” Anton suggested.
Everyone quickly got seated. Then Anton set the jump exit point and waited for the ship to realign itself.
“Ten seconds to jump,” Anton warned.
The Time ship warped space, and the familiar sensations quickly went, then they were traveling on through their wormhole to Ronin’s entry point.
During the following five-day transit, one of the highlights for everyone was in deciding where each couple had previously been together as well as on their own. To enable each of them to merge with their counterpart, while retaining their own memories in the composite person.
Then, as the conditions might be totally different than expected due to all the changes that they’d made to the Timeline. They also had to find a time when they thought that the reestablished timeline would be close enough to the original to allow a successful merger of each couple.
Charlotte and Anton had decided that 2325 when her children were about five, would be an excellent place in time to merge. Having covertly met Anton again close to the planet she had named ‘Cradle.’ And, where he had risked everything to bring her the first Orb.
She had also manipulated Anton to help her steal and hide an experimental Crillon ship. And she knew that even though Anton was aware that she had used him, he still loved her.
So, they agreed they would join in 2325, but take young Garth and Tara with them Uptime to Delta in 2725, where they would all live.
On the other hand, Cindy and Gerry hadn’t met until they were on Ronin. Therefore, if it were still possible, they would merge there, then join Charlotte and Anton at Delta, in 2725.
Whereas Frank and Susanna decided that the best time for them would be 2324, when they had made a trip with Andromeda, to Dpav4. This was well before their ‘Enhance program’ had started in earnest, which had caused the proliferation of the brain-cell injections.
Five days later, the Timeship exited its wormhole at the beginning of Ronin’s warp thread, and close to Andromeda’s last location where Frank and Susanna had transferred to Ronin.
“Nothing showing up on our sensors,” Anton disappointedly stated.
“Have faith,” Frank re-assured him while hoping that he wasn’t wrong and that Carn would really be able to find them.
Just as most of them stood up to stretch their bodies, a contact alarm sounded.
“Wormhole forming,” Gerry announced, desperately hoping it was a friend popping in, and not a Varon ship.
Chapter 37
Greetings, Carn
A silvery-blue colored, and pear-shaped Techno Clan ship exited warp and came to a halt two kilometers off the Time ship’s port bow.
Then, the usual small and bright yellow colored sphere materialized in the Time ship’s open area. It flickered for a moment, then a holographic scene with Carn and Supreme Techno Vellore’s images formed above it.
“Welcome back,” Carn greeted them.
“Thank you, we’re all glad to see you, Carn,” Frank warmly stated.
“It appears that the human timeline has changed enough to ensure that our future is safe. No Varons around, at least for the foreseeable future. And no temporal events,” Carn told them.
“So, didn’t we go uptime to Delta in 2725, then?” Susanna asked.
“In one sense, you did,” Carn said, then started to explain what had already happened, and what needed to happen now.
“The fact that Frank disrupted the Varon’s temporal buffer meant that they were forced to move to a different time and place, and they were no longer the controlling factor,” Carn told them.
“I see. So, because the Varons were no longer here, then our trip to Delta to sabotage the time crystal, could never have happened,” Gerry stated saying what everyone now knew.
“Exactly… Delta is safe, and my Clan has already been welcomed back to Delta as saviors,” Carn replied. Even though he was aware that these six humans on the Timeship were the real heroes.
“And what about our part in all this, Carn. Especially Frank’s contribution to the Varon’s downfall?” Charlotte queried, sounding a bit frosty.
“Uhh,” Carn stuttered, seemingly wrong-footed for a moment. “Well, we have put the record straight… All of you are the real heroes. And Delta knows it.”
“So, where do we go from here,” Anton asked?
Carn moved slightly, then Supreme Techno Vellore took over.
“You’ll have to trust me on this… I need you to place all of the Varon discs you have onto Ronin’s transporter base,” Vellore requested. “Then, we will bring the discs over for our Techs to reprogram them in pairs, to enable you to go where you wish,” she explained.
“But, how will we make sure each couple goes together and goes where they want to be,” Gerry questioned.
“Good question. Before each couple places their own discs on the sender, you must both mentally implant your destination visualization on the discs. I stress that you must be in harmony with this,” Vellore explained.
“OK, we’ll go first,” Gerry said to Cindy.
“Okay. Charlotte, remember the ‘Duckstom chamber’ where we rested after an assignment,” Cindy suggested.
“Yes. We’ll meet there,” Charlotte acknowledged.
With that, both Gerry and Cindy took their own Varon discs from their pockets. Then walked over to the large transit disc on t
he floor.
“Hold them and make sure your visions are in sync. Then place both of your discs on the transit disc,” Vellore ordered.
Both thought of when they first met on Ronin, and then, pictured Charlotte and Anton in the ‘Duckstom chamber’ on Delta.
Both felt their discs respond. Then they placed them on the large transit disc. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment. Then, their discs were gone.
“Your turn Charlotte,” Cindy urged while sending her a mental suggestion to help Anton’s location visualization.
Charlotte and Anton followed the same procedure. When completed, “It’s your turn, Frank,” Charlotte said.
Minutes later, Frank and Susanna had completed their task.
“We have them all,” Vellore informed. “It’ll take my techs two ship-hours to complete the programming. So, have a rest and something to eat. It may be a long time before the next meal,” she stated. Then both her and Carn were also gone.
Over the next two hours, they ate a good meal and sat sipping a drink or two.
“The four of us will be enjoying ourselves at Delta’s expense while you and Susanna are doing what?” Charlotte then asked
“Enjoying our children growing up as a family,” Susanna said, a touch of pride in her voice.
“Well, that’s okay for you, Susanna. But what about you, Frank?”
Frank sensed a little wistfulness flick through Charlotte’s mind. Which he found worrying.
“The same, Charlotte.”
“Na. You’ll be restless and want to be out there doing things.”
“Some, maybe. But together.”
“Perhaps I’ll drop in on you, Frank.”
‘There she goes again,’ Frank mentally groaned to himself.
A short time later, a clunking sound came from Ronin’s transfer unit, and they hurried over to collect their discs from the assembler unit.
Just as they were checking that they all had their original discs, Carn and Supreme Techno Vellore showed up on the holographic scene again.
“They are done… Remember, your counterpart will be paralyzed by the disc long enough for you to complete the merger. You must hold the disc between your counterpart and you, and against your foreheads, to ensure full transference,” Vellore instructed.
“Understood, Vellore,” they all acknowledged.
“Remember, your new memories will be transferred into your counterpart, and you will become one entity. However, the body you have now will cease to exist.”
“Christ. Is that good, or bad,” Susanna exclaimed.
“Don’t worry. You will not be aware of the merger,” Carn added.
“What happened to Ronin,” Frank asked?
“Aah, that was a shame. I know you cloned your disc for Ronin, but his temporal entropy displacement was too strong, so Ronin went back to 2620. We had no choice in the matter,” Carn answered.
“It would have been nice to have seen Ronin again,” Gerry glumly remarked.
“Perhaps you will, one day. But, right now, we need to send you all on your way,” Carn reminded them, then paused for a moment.
“This Timeship will monitor your progress before returning to Delta,” Carn then pointed out.
“What, without me, Carn?” Anton indignantly enquired.
“Yes, Anton… Kayto will take over from here.”
No one spoke for a moment as they digested this news.
“But why can’t the four of us travel up to Delta in this Timeship?” Anton finally asked.
“Because all of you still need to merge with your counterparts,” Carn explained, again.
“Oh, understood,” Anton said, annoyed with himself for asking something he already knew.
“Well, good luck to you all. Humanity owes you everything,” Supreme Techno Vellore stated, with Carn standing next to her, and nodding his head in agreement.
Kayto, Anton’s replacement pilot, who was a slim thirty-year-old man dressed in green overalls, stepped off the transfer disc and sat in the pilot’s seat.
“One moment while I check that you’ve picked the right discs,” Kayto advised, as a symbolic representation of each disc and its owner were verified.
“Right. It seems we’re okay to go. As explained, we need to monitor your progress. So, Anton and Charlotte, just touch your discs together, making sure you touch the blue patch on both discs, and you’ll be on your way,” Kayto urged.
Charlotte turned to Cindy and Gerry. “We’ll see you both at Delta,” she declared.
“Absolutely,” Gerry replied.
Then, Charlotte and Anton, holding their discs in their left hand, touched the blue patches together, and after four seconds, vanished.
“Good, we have tracking,” Kayto confirmed.
“
“Cindy, and Gerry, you may go now,” Kayto ordered.
Both touched their discs on the blue patch together, and after the four-second delay, disappeared.
“Just a minute,” Kayto said to Frank and Susanna, as his console beeped. “Carn wants to talk to you, Frank.”
“We’re leaving now, Frank,” Carn stated, with Supreme Techno Vellore’s face peering over his shoulder. “You’re the last to go. Remember to hold the disc against your forehead to ensure full transference.”
“We will, Carn… Will we see you again,” Frank queried? But Carn’s ship was already warping out, and in seconds, was gone.
“Ready when you two are,” Kayto advised.
“Well, Sues, let’s take the giant leap into ourselves,” he jokingly stated as he touched the blue patch on his Temporal disc.
“Wait, Frank. Have we got the right discs,” Susanna cried out? “It just doesn’t feel like the same one I had originally.”
Frank looked again and realized that Susanna was right. It did feel different. Had Carn’s techno’s got them mixed up during programming?
But before he could do anything, the four-second delay was over.
“Too late,” he groaned as he felt the Subspace tram, jerk, and blackness flooded his mind.
The End
If you enjoyed reading my 9th book
Galactic War
Please help me by reviewing it on Amazon
About the Author
I started writing my first book many years ago, but fate then conspired to point me in a different direction.
Although my career in electronic design was both exciting and fulfilling, especially with the fast-moving pace of the technology employed. I never lost my love of space. Or, of the possibility of man one-day traveling in Space and colonizing planets.
It wasn’t until 2013 that I had time to continue writing my book. Then I kept writing until finally, I had completed my SpaceFed-Starships Trilogy. I was then drawn to write a fourth book, Death of Time. Followed by my fifth book, Acarea A Triumph or Disaster.
In my sixth and seventh books, The Garoden War - Into the Fire, and Military Gamble. We saw the build-up to the first real Military action, as the Garoden Fleet engaged the Earth’s new Space Navy.
In book 8, the Galactic Empire tries to fight the growing mental powers pitted against it. But Mankind’s quest for the stars comes abruptly to an end as the Varon’s bogus ‘Timeline’ correction for the humans, shatters everything the alliance has worked for.
Now, in book 9, with the Galactic Empire gone. Can our intrepid six save the day?
It seems not, as they are flung back into a totally backward 2300.
Now, with no Time shaft and little hope of getting off Earth. Things couldn’t get worse. Or, could they?
Gerry A. Saunders
Dedication
I would like to thank my wife for her support in helping me complete this book. I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Other Books by this Author
SpaceFed StarShips Trilogy.
Book 1. Battles at Zeta Reticuli.
Book 2. Battle for Delta Pavonis.
Book 3. An Alliance at Kepler.<
br />
SpaceFed StarShips Series.
Book 4. Death of Time.
Book 5. Acarea. A Triumph or Disaster.
Book 6. The Garoden War. Part 1. Into the Fire.
Book 7. The Garoden War. Part 2. Military Gamble.
Book 8. Galactic War.
Book 9. Battle for Time.
The Definitive StarShips Trilogy in one book.
http://www.spacefedbooks.com
Battle for Time Page 17