“Because many years ago now I also designed it with my handler, Juv. Both were needed as a catalyst to get it all going.”
“The stolen ships?”
“The ships and the drills were needed for our project to save Earth. Unfortunately, it was not completed in time. Everything from there was just a consequence of our actions combined with our need for you to be here right now.”
“Morten? Why were you there when he died?”
The older one looked up to the sky like she was seeing into the face of God. “It was Morten’s destiny to die. No matter what any of us did, even if we tried out hardest to save him, he always ends up with the same fate. Morten sees us in his dreams just as we see him. There’s been many crossings in space-time. We are now connected. As soon as Morten laid eyes on you on the moon, he freaked. In his dreams, I bet our face is always the last one he sees before...”
“So why were you there?”
“I thought I could save him . I feel different from the others before me, just as I feel you do too. I created a mess by deviating from the Guide.”
“The Guide?”
“Written by those who have come before us. If we don’t follow the Guide, we risk losing everything. Do you understand?”
“I don’t understand at all!”
“Because I diverged from the Guide, you and I had a little run through the hive. With my bad leg I knew you were gaining on me. I dropped you the note. I was going to give it to you that night anyways. It’s a good thing you chose it over me. Could you imagine if we had met before it was time?”
Talon supposed that would definitely have been a weird twist. “So you’re telling me that you have directions from other Talons? That’s ridiculous. We’ve all kept a little diary, huh?”
“It will not seem so ridiculous soon. All the trial and error, all the mistakes and wins. You must follow the Guide.”
“What else was in your little manipulation manual?”
“Giving the directions to Aberdeen to get her suspicious of you and trusting of me. Planting the pills in Morten’s apartment so your investigation could move forward. I had to shoot Drake or else he would have told you everything. He had to go anyways,” she waved a hand. “He had thrown Rapiq’ani law out the window and was becoming too reckless. Some of them still believe in the old way,” she said more to herself. “Giving you the note was important so that you would go down the valley—”
“You’re telling me, that if you hadn’t given me that, then I would have run back to the ship?”
“Yes, and everyone would have died, not just Logan, Malay, and the pilots.”
“Well, aren’t you thoughtful,” she said sarcastically. “I’m not doing it. I’m breaking the cycle. It’s over.”
“We always want to go. You will go too.”
“Commander Terry!” It was the handsome man from earlier who barged into the hanger, and damn it all, he looked even better now.
“Yes, Specialist Drevon?” Older Talon addressed him after he simply stood, staring back and forth between the two women in astonishment.
“Your radio?”
“I turned it off to have, as it turns out, a more…private enlightenment.”
“Commander, we have confirmed incoming.”
“Right on time. Two hours?”
“At the most. Is she ready?”
“I am right here.” She hated when people did that. Talon made a point to look down at his crotch and smile. “Or are you too afraid of me now?”
He simply coughed in the back of his throat.
“Enough,” the older one held up her hand. “She was the first one to have ever escaped the simulation before experiencing it in its entirety. I need to be left alone. Please continue to prepare.”
“Prepare for what? War?” she asked her future self when the man left.
“Quite the opposite, actually. With no Earth to save anymore, the cause is over.”
“You’ll surrender?”
“Most of us will leave. We have a place.”
“So what are you preparing for?”
“I’ve already explained it to you. You are the one now. You must go back and save the people.”
“Well, if I did, I wouldn’t be thirty-eight,” she scoffed. “What took you so damn long?”
“One cannot just go into the past. It’s more complicated than that. There are sacrifices that must be made.”
“What do you mean?”
She sighed and thought for a moment. “If you caught a train from point A to point B, how would you get back to point A?”
Talon sighed. She wasn’t in the mood for riddles. “I would catch the train back.”
“Exactly. Time only goes forward in this universe. But there is another, mirror universe that was created during the Big Bang where time runs backwards. We found it.”
“So the toilets flush the other way?” Talon said sardonically.
“No. It’s just a universe that exists where time is running at an opposite and parallel vector to our own.”
“So if I wanted to go back an hour ago, I would have to spend an hour in the other universe?”
“You have the concept right, but there’s another detail that comes into play. You have to stay in the other universe, Esrevi, for a minimum of five years.”
“Five years!? Why?”
“Because every atom in your body must be recycled before you come back, otherwise you and I cannot exist here at the same time. When you do come back, five years ago from now, there will be another Talon. She will be starting the black ops program. You and she must not share any matter. Not one atom if you are to exist in the same world.”
“You spent five years in Esrevi, and five years again here?”
“Yes. I am ten years older than you.”
Talon scrutinized the woman. She had obviously been in too deep for too long to realize she was sounding just as crazy as the other Sinupecs. “Take me home. To Earth.”
“Talon, I don’t think that’s a—”
“Take me home! I’m not going to believe anything you say until I see Earth for myself.”
“You can see I am not lying.”
“I’m not leaving Levi. Not again. And I’m certainly not going anywhere while he is stranded on Earth.”
“As soon as you go back into the past, the Levi you know here will not exist. You will create a new reality where he and the billions of other lives on Earth are saved.”
Talon’s stomach dropped. “Is Levi dead?”
“No.”
“Then I need to see my fiancé.”
“Talon—”
“I NEED TO SAVE MY FIANCE!” she screamed louder than she ever had.
“I ALREADY DID!” the woman screamed back.
A moment of silence filled the room. “You did?”
“Yes. What do you think I was just there for?”
“You spoke to him?”
“Yes. He’s an essential part of your decision. He always is,” she said knowingly.
“Where is he? Is he here?”
“He’s safe. Back on Ohmani with his family.”
“How?”
“I sent a private ship for him. He would not have made it otherwise,” she said solemnly.
“How? You’ve been following him?” Talon snapped protectively.
The future her matched her anger. “I forgot how selfish I was.”
“Excuse me?”
“I was in love with him too, you know!”
“Was?”
She composed herself quickly and took an in-breath. “I called him. Gave him coordinates for a private ship that took him to safety. He knows everything, Talon. It would be cruel for you to disappear without him knowing why or if you were safe.”
“I need to see him before I make any decisions. You are not me, you said it yourself. I want him to come if I’m going anywhere. I’m not leaving him again.”
The woman sighed. “This place you are going is not safe. We barely make it every cycle. The
only reason we survive is because of the Guide. If you brought Levi he would surely die.”
“I’m starting a new tradition.”
“I promise we will go if you want. But first, please watch this.” She pulled a chip out of her breast pocket.
“What is it?”
“A message…from him. He recorded it for you. It’s authentic, I swear.”
“I want to watch it alone.”
“Of course.”
A few minutes later she was sitting in a sleeping ship in the corner of the hanger. Her fingers trembled as she fed the chip into the craft’s computer. Levi knew everything and she honestly didn’t know what to expect. His face appeared on the monitor. Levi was looking down for several moments in deep thought. Finally, he lifted his head and looked straight into the screen. She put her hand on his face, wishing she could feel him.
“Talon,” he started to say, “you saved me. Not you, I guess, but…it is you. I want you to know that I’m safe. She told me she’s you in the future. Good news is, you hold up pretty well,” he winked into the screen and his boyish dimples flashed for a scant second before turning sad. “I would have died like all those people. I can’t believe what’s happened there. She says you may not believe her. It’s true. Our planet is…never going to be the same. Pretty strange knowing kids will never know the beaches in Fort Bragg like we did.” His eyes welled.
“She told me everything. I’m in shock as I’m sure you are. It has me questioning a lot. You and I have been in a strange place the last couple of weeks. I love you, Talon, but I also know you…the you right now that is,” he corrected, seeming to look above the camera for a scant second. “You chose not to be with me long before now. I know there’s a ring on your finger but you’ve made it clear you have other desires right now…desires that aren’t me. I don’t know if I can ever really get over that you made that choice, even if you change your mind now.” Levi heaved a deep sigh.
“I guess what I’m saying is, if you really can save those people then you need to try. We can’t let this happen if there’s a chance to stop it. Fuck good guys and bad guys. And, as hard as it is, we can’t choose us over them.” Levi looked down and shook his head. “I can’t do this with you, Talon. I wouldn’t be able to see it in your eyes every day. You living with regret for me. I will be fine. I have my family, my job, my friends, and even a version of you,” he managed to laugh. “I’m good, Eagle. Maybe in another reality, we can make it, but in this one, it’s just not our time. I love you so much and I always will. I couldn’t be more proud of you. Please be safe.”
A sob escaped Talon’s lips and then the flood gates opened. Her fiancé had just broken up with her. What the hell did this woman say to him? How could this have been her life? First her mother, and now Levi? She was officially alone and that terrified her. The worst part about it is, she made her own bed. All of this was a culmination of her own choices, as much as she blamed others. Going to this other place seemed more like an escape now. She didn’t know how long she sat in the cabin of the ship feeling sorry for herself. Finally the hatch opened.
“Are you alone?” Talon asked her older self.
Talon came over and sat down. “You chose not to be with Levi the night I sent you your simulation hat. I remember it so clearly. Trust me, you don’t need a Sacred Union to stay in love with someone, Talon. I’m going to be very honest with you right now. I wish I could say you will heal from this and move on from Levi, but you don’t. You will be tortured every day you are gone.”
“I don’t want to end up like you.”
Instead of becoming defensive the woman nodded understanding. “I know. Honestly, I don’t want you to end up like me either. I did all of this for nothing. I failed and I’m alone. It’s not the fate I dreamed of, that’s for sure.”
“Why did you deviate from the directions? On the moon?”
“The Guide? I don’t know. I feel different from them.”
“If they’ve all failed, what makes you think this isn’t Earth’s destiny?”
“It’s not. It can’t be. We have to keep trying.”
“Then there must be something different we can try. I’m not following the stupid Guide.”
“I’m supposed to tell you to continue the work of all of us before you—”
“Please. I feel like being with Levi is my destiny. How can I have two destinies that can’t happen simultaneously?”
The woman bit her lip and swished her bangs out of her face. She seemed nervous.
“You’re not telling me something.”
“You’re the only one to have escaped the simulation. You’re different too. I can feel it. If you hadn’t escaped the simulation, you would have been enlightened in less than an hour and forced to make a decision as the military ship closed in. It’s all very dramatic and you feel pressured and rushed. You don’t find closure. It’s torture,” she shook her head knowingly. “Maybe this was a gift…or maybe I’m going to screw everything up,” she added. “I have a crazy idea, but, you can’t tell anyone. It has to be between us. Kravis and the Sinupecs believe in the cause, and they believe in the Guide.”
“I will try anything if it means not following some recipe that has failed fourteen times.”
“Thirteen.”
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “When you get back from Esrevi, there will be another Talon here. She will be at the Academy, obsessively driven in her training.”
“Okay.” Talon was following so far.
“Don’t send her the hat.”
“What?”
“Don’t involve her in any way. Don’t send the reporters and don’t send the hat.”
“The tabloid made my committee decide I wasn’t fit for the black floor.”
“Yes.”
“So what will happen to her after that?”
The older one snorted. “I have no idea!”
“She will sleep with Levi the night of the party…and—”
“And not end up like us. Leave her alone. Let her be happy. She will give up her endeavors when there is nothing to find.”
“But, that means I won’t end up with him,” she went wide-eyed with realization.
“No, but in a way, we will. We all will. But that also means you can’t fail. You have to be the one to succeed.”
“Then I don’t want to be in love with him!” If that wasn’t torture, she didn’t know what was. “How do I stop it? I can’t be thinking about a man for ten years and then not end up with him!”
“Hm. Well,” the older one had a giddy look on her face. “you could fall in love with someone else.”
“What? You don’t just fall in love with someone.”
“No, but you can at least be distracted by someone else,” she raised a brow.
“The Sacred Union.” No, she couldn’t do that…could she? Talon rubbed her puffy eyes and imagined being a thirty-eight year who failed her one job and was now alone. If there was one thing she knew, she didn’t want to end up like that. She would do this crazy thing, but she would do it her way.
“Have anybody in mind?” The older one sensed Talon’s decision being made.
Talon couldn’t believe she was even considering this, but her heart fluttered as a man’s face appeared. “Actually, I think I do.”
21 A MAN’S FANTASY
“You want me to do what?!” Kona Drevon bellowed.
His commander had requested his presence in an unused private quarter bay. He thought it strange, but nothing could have prepared him for the reasoning behind his summons.
“You heard me correctly, Special Agent Drevon.”
“I’ve never been to Esrevi before. It will never be approved.”
“My approval is all you will need. Unless you would rather spend the rest of your days hiding with the rest of us on Ivraland.”
“No, it’s not that, Commander. You know it would be my greatest honor to escort…her.”
It was Kona’s dream to continue the cause for another cycle, but the same men had gone for the past dozen times. It was unheard of to switch up the team, especially an hour before leaving. It was known Esrevi was a harsh place full of large man-eating beasts and strange beings. They had survival there down to an art – only half the team was lost in his commander’s cycle. His presence would disrupt the Guide and cause potential harm to fall upon the future one.
No, it wasn’t that part that bothered him – it was the other…request. And he wasn’t going to do that and just leave her! Even he was brought up better than that. Drevon knew he looked ridiculous standing there with a dumbfounded look on his face. He closed his jaw. “I just don’t feel comfortable doing…this,” he emphasized again.
“You are one of my most trusted and qualified men. Do you trust me?”
His commander laid a hand on his shoulder causing a jolt of surprise to run through him. She had never touched him before and was now regarding him with affection. Kona looked deep into her eyes – for connection, for confirmation, and just because they were so damn mesmerizing. They reminded him of the way the sun would hit the rocks at sunrise in his birth land. His leader’s beauty was unmatched, she was fiercely intelligent and, more importantly, she was a strong leader. Despite her failures, she had driven the cause forward with her cycle. He admired her, and never questioned her orders and, oh, he had fantasized about her too…
In his imaginations she screamed with delight and arched her back in ecstasy. She squirmed with pleasure and tasted like heaven. Fantasies were a man’s prerogative, and like every man, he assumed they would stay that way – inside his head. Not only was she far too good for him, but it was widely known the commander had chosen a life of celibacy to stay focused on the mission. The truth of that snapped him back to the reason why he was standing in a lonely corridor, wide-eyed in disbelief that she was asking him to have sex with her…a younger version of her, but still. Why wasn’t he jumping with excitement?
“Why would you and she want this? I don’t understand.”
“The old way isn’t working.”
He scowled, but only because his commander needed to give herself some credit. “You have advanced the cause. It won’t take many more cycles now.”
An Eagle's Revenge (Across the Infinite Void Book 2) Page 27