Hanna waved her hand irritably. ‘Then go! Find her and bring her back. I want all my children here, with me. Safe.’
‘Don’t forget to block up the entrance,’ Damien said, pointing to the sturdy wooden grate that his family would have to nail into place before dark. It was the only way to keep out the wildlings. ‘Don’t worry, Mama, I’ll be all right.’
He stepped into the chilly afternoon and was gone.
‘We’re picking up a new timeline from 2321,’ Harry reported to Captain Cutler.
‘Is it anything to do with Simon and Danice’s mission?’ Cutler asked, leaning forward to examine the red line on the Operations Screen.
‘This is totally new, sir. Sent by our mysterious Chieftain friend, I’d say.’
‘An exploration satellite? Before they send out temponauts?’
‘That’s my calculation, sir.’ Harry pointed to the other red timelines on the screen. ‘In the past, they’ve sent one, two, or sometimes three TP Satellites to reconnoitre new locations.’
‘Rather like we do,’ Cutler said.
‘We’re usually more thorough than they are, sir.’
‘To where does the timeline link?’ Cutler asked.
‘Indonesia, sir. 1515. The northern coast of Sumatra, to be exact. A fairly uninhabited area, by the looks of it.’
‘Any intelligence on the area?’
‘From around 1513, the Portuguese were very active in this region. They were after spices, sir, and …’
‘Gold, yes, I know,’ Cutler cut in. ‘Do we have a TPS on standby?’
‘Not at the moment,’ Harry replied. ‘But I can have one moving pretty soon.’
‘Activate it, then. Investigate the location as soon as the satellite’s operational.’ Cutler frowned. ‘What’s that chieftain up to now?’
19
It was late afternoon. The yellow lights of the power station glinted dimly in the drizzle that fell from the darkening sky.
‘Too many people at the front gate, there’s no easy way in there,’ Simon said, looking up from the clump of low bushes where he and Danice were hiding. He’d managed to calm himself down, and felt back in control.
‘We’d better find some other way in,’ Danice said. ‘Our second objective is to find out if this is the source of the power for the Chieftain’s time-travel system.’
Simon nodded.
He left their cover and crawled along a deep drainage ditch. Danice followed. Once they were out of sight of the gate they clambered up the bank and skirted along the base of the razor-wire fence that surrounded the station.
Danice looked up at the fence. ‘It’s about five metres high,’ she said. ‘Another job for our springers.’
‘And the ground’s pretty hard here,’ Simon said, ‘so let’s fly.’
Retreating a few metres, they activated their wrist pilots and, on Simon’s command, leapt forward, bouncing and soaring over the fence. They landed in the long grass on the other side.
Danice winced, lifting her right leg to reveal a jagged tear that had sliced through her suit to the flesh underneath. ‘Ouch, that hurts!’ she moaned. ‘I snagged the top of that razor wire as we went over.’
Simon twisted around and took a small metal phial from his travel pouch. ‘Try some of this repair solution,’ he said. ‘Stay still.’
The spray frothed over the wound. Within seconds, the cut in Danice’s skin was healing. Tiny, dark threads appeared at the edges of the tear in her suit and began to reweave the fabric.
‘How’s that?’ Simon asked.
‘Better,’ Danice said. ‘I still can’t figure out how that stuff works. But we should have kept it for an emergency.’
‘It was an emergency!’
Danice managed a faint smile. ‘I guess we don’t make too bad a team, after all.’
Simon turned to the power station that loomed over them. ‘So, let’s find a way in.’
Danice pointed to a ramp and a set of double doors at the side of the main building. One door was open, and two casually dressed workers were unloading cartons from the back of a truck and stacking them at the base of the ramp. ‘Over there might be a good place to start,’ she said.
‘It looks like a loading bay,’ Simon said. ‘We can be part of their delivery.’
They crept silently through the long grass, keeping their heads down until they reached the edge of the parking bay.
‘Wait,’ Simon said. He watched as the men picked up a carton each, strolled lazily up the ramp and through the open door into the power station. He estimated that there was about thirty metres of open space between them and the ramp. ‘We’ll have to run,’ he whispered.
‘My leg’s okay,’ Danice replied. ‘Just say when.’
‘Now!’
They dashed across the parking area, up the ramp and disappeared inside the power station.
‘I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve asked you all here,’ Professor McPhee said with a quick smile and a probing gaze at the small gathering in front of the Operations Screen. The three temponauts, Nick Spenser, Taylor Bly and Ivan Ho made up a tight group, while Captain Cutler stood beside Harry at the control desk.
‘You’re planning to send us on a big mission, sir,’ Nick said glibly.
‘Correct,’ McPhee said, ‘but I’ll get to that soon.’ He nodded to Harry. ‘Activate the new locators.’
‘Coming on now,’ Harry replied, hitting a couple of keys. ‘Look at the bottom-right of the screen, Professor.’
All eyes quickly fixed on a map of the west coast of the United States. Then the picture faded into a continuous stream of night vision from a darkened complex of buildings.
‘The year is 2321,’ the professor explained. ‘This is where Simon and Danice are working right at this moment.’
‘They’re in the future!’ Ivan gasped.
‘I can’t believe it—they never told us!’ Nick said.
‘What’s that we’re looking at?’ Taylor asked.
‘A power plant, some distance inland from the northern coast of California,’ Harry said.
‘We can see it with our new satellite,’ Cutler added. ‘We’ve put it into orbit around the Earth in the twenty-fourth century. Every ninety minutes it gives us the exact position of our temponauts, using micro-transmitters that we’ve embedded into your suits.’
‘Is this something new?’ Nick asked.
‘Yes, we’re trialling it on this mission.’
Nick grinned. ‘Bet they don’t know they’re being tracked.’
‘We weren’t sure the system would work effectively,’ Professor McPhee went on. ‘It was best they didn’t know, in case it failed when they were relying on it.’
‘Seems to be functioning okay, sir,’ Harry said.
‘So, those two red dots flashing on the screen,’ Ivan said, taking a closer look, ‘they’re Simon and Danice?’
McPhee nodded. ‘And by the looks of it, they’re right inside the power plant.’
‘The dots aren’t moving,’ Taylor observed. ‘Are they okay?’
‘That’s one thing the locators can’t reveal exactly,’ Cutler replied. ‘They could be in trouble, or they could be simply taking in the view, or talking, or hiding. We don’t know. The important thing is to keep monitoring them.’
‘So, while they’re running around in the twenty-fourth century, what do we do, Prof?’ Nick asked.
‘Now that you’ve seen what Simon and Danice are doing, we have a job for the three of you,’ McPhee said. ‘Sumatra, in the year 1515. Your job is to prevent one heck of a gold robbery.’
‘We’ve been here twenty minutes. We can’t wait all night,’ Danice said, glancing at the security camera that was fixed just below the ceiling of a corridor deep inside the power station. ‘You think they’ve seen us yet?’
‘They would have been here long ago if they had,’ Simon replied, checking the entry handprint-reader for the tenth time. He was trying to work out some way of overriding it, so
they could get through the security doors and further inside. ‘The electronic security’s tight, but there don’t seem to be many people around here.’
‘Famous last words!’ Danice whispered. ‘Someone’s coming!’
Simon dragged her into a nearby janitor’s cupboard. He pulled the door to, leaving a narrow crack to peer through. An agonising few seconds went by. Then there was a noise like an electric blender.
A small motorised robot approached the security barrier. It reached out with a prosthetic hand attached to one of its metal arms and placed it on the handprint reader. The other arm supported a tray which held a steaming mug of tea.
‘Cute waiter,’ Danice whispered, stealing a look.
‘Are you ready to run? We’ll probably have a second or two to get through the doors after the robot passes through.’
The thick metal doors parted and slid back in their grooves. The robot moved on.
‘Follow it—now!’ Simon hissed, dashing for the doors as they reached their maximum opening point.
He pushed all his weight against one door, let Danice slip by and then threw himself through the narrowing gap. The doors shut with a grinding clunk.
‘Whew, tight fit!’ Simon gasped. He looked around and saw that they were standing in a brightly lit corridor.
‘It went this way!’ Danice said, following a red line that turned to the right around the next corner.
‘We’re heading straight to the reactor control room,’ Simon said, checking the plan of the station on his wrist pilot. ‘We’re close to it now.’
Danice stopped to peer cautiously around the corner. She nodded back at Simon. He came and took a peek. They were looking into a room that was alight with a bank of fluoro lights. The room contained a control desk in front of a long wall that bristled with gauges, dials and screens. They monitored every aspect of the station’s production and output.
‘Our objective is to check if there’s power going from here to the Chieftain’s place,’ Simon murmured, stepping slowly into the room. ‘Where’s that robot got to?’
‘Hopefully it’s not programmed to raise alarms,’ Danice said.
‘I doubt it,’ Simon replied. ‘It looked like some kind of service robot. It probably has pretty basic programming.’
As they reached the control desk, Simon flicked his eyes to the right. Beyond a glass window, a white-coated technician was sitting in a staff recreation area, his back to them as he stirred his tea.
‘The robot’s in there, I guess. Keeping that guy company,’ Danice said.
Simon turned back to the control panels. ‘The power outputs are along here,’ he said, pointing to a row of gauges marked CITY, FARMS, SOUTH. ‘Looks like the station provides power to these places. Those farms must be those Prison Farms you were telling us about.’
Danice nodded. ‘That’s where the Tribunes send anyone they don’t like. Such as people who break into their power plant.’
Simon frowned. ‘The power consumption looks pretty low at the Prison Farms.’
Danice pointed to the last gauge. ‘The Chieftain’s fortress is in the south.’
‘Look at the output on that gauge!’ Simon exclaimed. ‘There’s a lot of power going that way right now. Twice as much as to the other places.’
‘The Chieftain’s probably charging up his Time Accelerator,’ Danice said. ‘He always starts it a few hours before he needs it—sometimes a day before, if it’s a big mission. The further back in time we go, the longer he charges it.’
‘So he’s preparing for another gold grab?’
‘If he’s using that much power, he must be.’
‘Then that’s our next move. South.’
‘Back through the city,’ Danice said, ‘with just one stop.’
‘Where?’ Simon asked. ‘We have to stick to our orders. They don’t like us going off on wild-goose chases.’
‘Our stop’s on the way. I want to see my dad.’
‘I wish I could see my dad,’ Simon said, without thinking.
‘Why can’t you?’
Simon hesitated, then came out with the truth. ‘He’s dead.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Danice replied. ‘How did he die?’
For a second, Simon considered telling her about the secret investigation into his father’s disappearance. But it was too risky. ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ he said. ‘Come on, let’s go and find your dad.’
20
‘Bigdad!’ Danice cried. She stood on her toes and threw her arms around her father’s shoulders.
‘Danice! You’re back!’ her father said in astonishment. He wrapped his great arms around her, casting a curious look over her head at Simon. ‘Come on, you and your friend had better get inside.’
‘Bigdad, this is Simon,’ Danice said, as the door closed behind them. ‘Simon, this is Bigdad.’
‘Hi,’ Simon said, looking up at the giant of a man. He was someone his own father would have described as ‘nearly seven foot on the old scale’. He was a complete contrast to Danice’s tiny-framed mother.
‘Some people call me David,’ he said with a wide smile. ‘Come, sit down. I’ve been worried. Where have you been, what have you been up to?’
They sat on wooden chairs in the poorly furnished kitchen. In the following half hour, Danice showed Bigdad the travel suit under her overalls, described her capture by the Time Bureau in sixteenth century Spain, gave a run-down of her basic training as a temponaut and explained the Bureau’s offer to help the family. She finished with their arrival and escape from the Big Forest that morning.
Bigdad turned to Simon. ‘And tell me, you’re from where?’
‘Bondi Beach. You know, Sydney, Australia in the twenty-first century,’ he replied, wondering if that really explained anything at all. The beach, surfing and high school seemed so alien and far away.
The explanation seemed to satisfy Bigdad, however. He nodded. ‘And what exactly is your mission here?’
Simon hesitated.
‘It’s okay,’ Danice reassured him. ‘Bigdad works in the Underground. You can tell him.’
‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea,’ Simon said. ‘Our mission plans are confidential.’
‘Simon, this is my father!’
Bigdad smiled. ‘Perhaps I can reassure you, Simon. The Underground is a group of people working to fight the Tribunes and their political system,’ he explained, pointing at a rough wooden shelf holding a few dozen well-worn books. ‘Some of us can still read. We know something about the freedoms of the past and we want to get rid of the slave system, establish schools, and change our way of life.’
‘We’re not allowed to live here with him,’ Danice said, with a sad glance at her father.
‘It’s against regulations for slaves to live with their families,’ Bigdad added.
‘Couldn’t you escape?’ Simon asked.
‘Yes, I could, very easily, like a lot of the others. But I can be more effective here, in the city.’ Bigdad smiled at Simon. ‘And we’ll help you, too, if we can.’
‘Thanks, but Danice and I can’t reveal the details of our mission,’ Simon said.
‘What do you mean?’ Danice said. ‘Who do you think he’s going to talk to? The Tribunes? Bigdad puts his life on the line all the time. He——’
‘Danice, it’s all right,’ Bigdad interrupted.
‘No, it’s not,’ Danice replied, glaring at Simon. ‘I’m telling you we can trust Bigdad.’
‘Okay, take it easy,’ Simon said. He glanced curiously at the big man. He seemed confident, honest and reliable. But Simon and Danice had been instructed not to reveal the complete details of the mission. ‘Well … er …’ he muttered, ‘we just have to find out a bit about the Chieftain and his time-travel system.’
Danice nodded. ‘The Chieftain’s powering up his Time Accelerator right now,’ she said.
‘He’s after more gold to keep the Tribunes happy,’ Bigdad sighed. ‘That’s a thankless task. No matter how m
uch you give them, it’s never enough, and they’ll always demand more.’
‘We’re supposed to discover the exact location of his Time Accelerator,’ Simon said, ‘and find out who he really is. Danice says she’s never seen him, face to face.’
‘I’ve been into his throne room a couple of times, but he keeps his face always hidden under a hood.’ Danice shuddered. ‘He’s such a creepy man.’
‘I’ve never seen him either,’ Bigdad said, ‘but the Tribunes have. I hear they say he’s an old man. His set-up is basically just him and that sidekick of his, O’Bray.’
‘And a whole lot of tough guards,’ Danice reminded him.
‘Well, first things first,’ Bigdad said. ‘You’ll be hungry. Let’s find you something to eat.’ He stood up and went to a small bench in the corner. ‘You know, maybe the Underground can help you. We could create a distraction or two in the city to keep the Tribunes busy—and keep the Chieftain and his guards worried. Keep their minds on other things.’
‘Like what?’ Danice asked.
Bigdad smiled. ‘It won’t be hard for us to stir up some unrest. We’ve had plans for some time to challenge the Tribunes. Our followers in the Underground are keen to make some sort of statement—to shake things up a little, make trouble, show them that we’re not completely cowed.’
‘If it helps, I guess trouble sounds good,’ Simon said.
Danice frowned. ‘I don’t know, Bigdad. We wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt because of us.’
‘No one need get hurt,’ Bigdad assured her.
‘But we’re supposed to keep a low profile on these missions,’ Danice said. ‘Not make disturbances. Not affect history.’
‘Leave it to me,’ Bigdad said. ‘We know how to kick up a fuss without bringing the place down.’ He grabbed a half loaf of bread and started slicing it. ‘Anyway, you two should stay here till daybreak. It’ll take a while for me to start organising things. No point you heading off before we’ve got the distractions underway!’
‘We’ve only got forty-eight hours’ mission time,’ Simon said.
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