The Search for Cleo

by Aaron J. Ethridge

  All these activities greatly helped to pass the time and, sooner than he expected it, the ship came to a stop near a somehow familiar star.

  “So, this is where we left it months ago?” Morgan asked.

  “Months for us,” Robert replied. “Thousands and thousands of years for it.”

  “Are you sure it's still here?”

  In reply, the traveler pushed a number of buttons on the wooden console. Instantly, the time-drive appeared a short distance from The Morgan-mobile.

  “Epic,” the young man said with a smile.

  “I think so,” Robert nodded. “It's kind of a shame that time travel is so dangerous. It really is pretty cool.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “Get it on board and installed in engineering,” the traveler said, pushing more buttons. “Then, we head for a different place at a different time.”

  “Where and when?”

  “You'll find out before long.”

  In just minutes, they had the time-drive on the ship – along with the frame it had been mounted in, the stealth and shield generators it used, and the solar panels that had powered it all. While Vox and Robert worked to get the drive put in place, Ensign Holiday was given the task of mounting the panels to the hull. To help her with this, she enlisted Mister Harker. (Captain Hood approved of this as there didn't seem to be any way Morgan could get them all killed by being distracted while working on it.)

  “Why do we have to do this in spacesuits?” he asked as he followed along behind her on the outside of the ship with an armload of panels.

  “With the addition of the sidecars,” she replied, “there's too much ship to protect for us to risk spreading the shields out any thinner than they already are.”

  “We just got another shield generator.”

  “That's not what we need,” she explained. “We need more power.”

  “The engines should be producing more than enough.”

  “The generator from the car can only do so much – no matter what kind of engine you hook it to.”

  “Then, we should have gotten another generator,” he asserted.

  “From where?”

  “From wherever Rob decided to get one,” he replied. “As it turns out, I agree with him. Working in spacesuits is a pain.”

  “You want to go back inside?” she asked, turning around to look at him.

  “No,” he answered, shaking his head. “What I want, is to be wherever you are at all times.”

  “Well, that's not going to happen no matter how much power we have,” she said, taking one of the panels from him, “unless, of course, we somehow end up married.”

  “I'm glad to know that you at least see that as a possibility now.”

  “If there's one thing I've learned from running around with Rob,” she said, smiling at him through her helmet, “it's that the universe is a strange place. I don't take anything for granted anymore. Hold that there, please.”

  He obligingly held the panel in place while she connected it to the hull using the MCB.

  “You seem to really love this technical stuff,” he said as he watched her work.

  “Don't you?” she asked without looking up.

  “I do,” he nodded. “Maybe not as much as you, but I do. Did you study much of this in school – I assume you went to school.”

  “I went to school,” she replied. “But, no, I hated this kind of stuff at the time. Which really wasn't all that long ago... In fact, I graduated just before my mother died. Anyway, I didn't see any point in studying engineering or anything technical in my former life. Now, we need it all the time, and it really serves a purpose. We're actually helping save the universe; not just riding around in Rob's spaceship-time-machine.”

  “That's certainly a fact,” he agreed. “Did you like school?”

  “I loved it. Although, as it turns out, it might as well have been a daycare. The only thing I learned that in any way prepared me for this was how to read and write and how to do math.”

  “That's the important stuff anyway.”

  “I suppose that's true,” she said. “I think we'll put the next one over there.”

  The pair moved to the location Azure had selected and began working to get another panel in place.

  “I'd ask you about your school life,” she said, “but, I have the feeling you don't remember it.”

  “Not at all,” he nodded. “As far as I know, I was born knowing everything I knew before I met Rob.”

  “In some ways, that's sad,” she replied. “On the other hand, I kind of like the idea of you not having a past before you met me. It means I don't have any memories to complete with.”

  “What do you mean?” he chuckled.

  “You never had any other women,” she explained. “Or, if you did, you can't remember them. Either way, they're no competition to me now.”

  “Azure,” he said quite seriously, “if I had been romantically involved with every woman in history, you still wouldn't have any competition.”

  “That's sweet of you to say.”

  “It's the absolute truth,” he assured her. “How about you... Other men?”

  “No,” she laughed. “There were other boys, but never men.”

  “Ah,” he said, clearly a little disappointed by the fact that there had even been boys.

  “Don't worry about it,” she said, looking over her shoulder at him with a smile. “Believe it or not, you were the first one I ever kissed. Well, I mean; kissed.”

  “I know what you mean,” he said, a wide smile instantly appearing on his face. “Although, that's a little hard to believe. I guess you just have a natural gift. You were really good at it even that first time.”

  “I think it was just the excitement of thanking you for saving my life coupled with me wanting to break your jaw.”

  “That was probably it,” he nodded. “Either way, you're even better at it now.”

  “It's all down to practice,” she replied, rising to her feet. “That's another one down. I have to say; you've gotten a lot better, too. Sometimes, I feel like you're about to make me start hallucinating.”

  “Like when you taste like cherry?” he smiled.

  “Shut up,” she said, hitting him on the arm. “We need to stop talking about this. We've got work to do.”

  “You afraid you're gonna fog up your helmet?”

  “Maybe,” she said playfully. “Now, shut up.”

  “Shutting up, sir.”

  In relatively short order, Azure and Morgan finished their task and headed back into the ship. Just minutes later, the maiden had The Morgan-mobile soaking up power from the not-so-distant star. She pointed out that with this done, they now had enough power to extend the shields, but that, obviously, they didn't need to do at the moment. Less than an hour after they had completed their task, Vox and Robert completed theirs. The captain then gathered his entire crew in the saloon.

  “Alright guys,” he said, taking up a seat on the couch at Cleo's side and putting his hands behind his head, “we've got the time-drive in place and we're about to head out.”

  “To where?” Morgan asked.

  “I ask that you please hold all questions until the end of the lecture,” Robert replied, lowering his hands and placing them on his knees before leaning in Morgan's direction.

  “Certainly, professor.”

  “We've got a whole load of parts we still need,” he explained, “and, we have to be careful where we get them from. At the moment, we have limited resources and...”

  “And, we should just go back to Never Never Land,” Morgan interjected.

  “No, we shouldn't,” Robert replied, shaking his head. “At the moment, Sturm has no idea where we are, or that we're coming for Cleo. If we contact Never Never Land, his co-conspirators may be able to tell him where and when we are. If we go back there, they may find a way to sabotage us again. On top of which, we pulled the parts for my ship...”

  “Our ship,” Cleo interjected.


  “Our ship,” the traveler nodded, “out of the time-lines in the first place. What we need to do is go where we can get more parts that don't matter to time.”

  “Where is that?”

  “I'm still telling you! Please hold all...”

  “Right,” Morgan interrupted. “Sorry.”

  “Actually,” Robert said, “that's what I'm not telling you. For reasons I can't go into at the moment, none of you can know where we're going.”

  “Why?” the young man asked.

  This question caused Robert to lift his eyes to the ceiling, take a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

  “For reasons he can't go into at the moment,” Azure pointed out.

  “Oh... Right...”

  “Until I tell you otherwise,” the traveler continued, “or if I'm incapacitated for more than three days for some reason, none of you are to step foot on the bridge or even peek through the door. That is a direct order – without so much as a grain of my general good humor in it. Do you all understand me?”

  They did.

  “Now,” he smiled, “as it's going to take us days to get where we're going, and as all of the work we can do up to this point has basically been done, we're all on vacation. We can all do whatever we want until we get where we're going – except for Morgan, who can do whatever he's allowed to do.”

  “Eh,” Morgan shrugged, “I'll take it.”

  The next few days were spent by the crew enjoying one form of relaxation or another. As they had all day every day, they once again decided to watch some of the shows they had found on the derelict. Cleo pointed out that they had what they needed to learn the language, but Robert counter-pointed out that trying to guess what they were saying was probably more entertaining than whatever it was that they were truly saying anyway. (On top of which, he had just learned a new language 'the old-fashioned way' and didn't feel up to doing that again for a while.)

  Just minutes before they reached their destination, Robert gathered his crew in the saloon again.

  “As you've probably already guessed,” he began, “none of you can leave the ship until I get back.”

  “No,” Cleo said.

  “Except for Morgan,” he continued, “who I have to take with me – once again – for reasons that I can't explain.”

  “No,” she asserted for a second time.

  “Even compared to normal,” he said, gazing directly into the eyes of his love, “there is absolutely no danger in this situation.”

  “No.”

  “Cleo,” he replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I understand how...”

  “No, you don't!” she exclaimed. “You can't! No one in the universe lies as much as you, so you can't possibly know what it's like to have to deal with someone like that.”

  “I realize this is my fault,” he replied, “but, this time, you're just going to have to trust me.”

  At this, she laughed derisively.

  “Alright,” he sighed. “I didn't want to have to do this, but; Miss Zelbizarre, you are hereby confined to the ship until further notice.”

  At this, she laughed derisively again.

  “I'm serious, dear.”

  “So am I, love,” she almost snapped. “There is no way I'm letting you out of my sight.”

  “Doctor Dassmock, would you please declare Miss Zelbizarre temporarily insane and confine her to the medi-bay?”

  This caused her to glare at Doc.

  “I’m afraid I can't, sir,” he replied quite seriously. “In my medical opinion, she's at least as sane as you are.”

  “Chief Security Officer Harker...” Robert said, clearly becoming annoyed. “Are you even listening to me?!”

  “Sorry, what?” Morgan said, trying to pretend like he hadn't heard.

  “Vox, I don't suppose there's any point in asking you...”

  “None, boss,” Vox interjected, shaking his head. “Not only would I have to hear it from small girl for the next twelve months, I'm sure Celeste is on her side.”

  “I certainly am,” his wife agreed.

  “Azure,” he said, “I'm not even going to bother...”

  “Good,” she replied before he could finish.

  “This is mutiny,” Robert pointed out. “Sometimes, you guys are a terrible crew.”

  “Perhaps,” Doc nodded, “but we're always excellent friends.”

  “Agreed,” the traveler said with a smile. “Alright, sweetheart, have it your way.”

  Having said this, he stood up, drew the tranq-pistol hanging from his right hip, spun around, and shot her in the left thigh.

  “Robert Nath...” was as far as she managed to scream before she passed out.

  “Anyone else?” he asked, waving the gun across his crew.

  “Nah, boss,” Vox chuckled. “I think we're good.”

  “She's going to find a way to punish you for that,” Azure said, her tone less than pleasant.

  “You want some, Ensign Holiday?” he asked, pointing the pistol directly at her.

  “No, sir,” she replied, glaring at him.

  “Azure,” he said with a wide smile, instantly lowering the pistol, “I'm just teasing you. Lighten up, would you?”

  “No!” she snapped. “Once again, you're about to...”

  “Stop,” he interrupted, sliding the gun back in its holster and stepping over to her. “Just stop.”

  He then knelt down in front of her, took her hands in his, and gazed directly into her eyes.

  “I promise you,” he said, “as your captain, and your friend, that to the furthest extent of my rather remarkable knowledge, Morgan and I will never have been safer in our lives. I can't explain it now, but when we get back, you'll understand why I did what I did. As a sign of good faith, I'm asking for your permission. May I please take Morgan with me?”

  “I guess,” she sighed after several silent seconds.

  “Thank you!” he replied, leaping to his feet.

  “Rob,” the blue maiden said, “what would you have done if I had said 'no'?”

  “Tranq-ed you,” he laughed. “Let's go, Morgan!”

  Moments later, the two were walking down the gangplank and heading toward a bazaar that Morgan instantly recognized.

  “So,” he said, glancing over the scene, “what was the lie?”

  “No lie,” Robert replied. “Not this time.”

  “Well, then...”

  “Can't tell you. Just keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.”

  “You do realize that I realize that we're going to Karl's, right?”

  “Mouth shut.”

  As the pair passed through the market, one thing after another struck the young man as remarkably familiar. He felt as if he were seeing all the same weapons, tools, technology, and as seen on TV type items – as well as scantily clad alien chicks with bare midriffs – for a second time. Finally, something attracted his attention that made him absolutely certain he had been here before.

  “That is the exact same giant roach, Rob.”

  “You think you recognize it?” he laughed.

  “I know I do,” he nodded. “That smell...”

  “Smells like cooked cockroach. If you've smelled one, you've smelled them all.”

  “I'm telling you, man, I'm having crazy vivid deja vu.”

  “Time travelers get that sometimes,” Robert lie-explained. “Your travels may have given you a brief insight into the future.”

  “Really?”

  “Absolutely,” he nodded. “It's the one real Jedi power that you can actually get. Now, shut up, and try to figure out what's going to happen next.”

  “Aye, aye, sir,” Morgan replied, glancing around and doing his best to see the future.

  Minutes later, the pair found themselves at the now all-too-familiar junk dealership.

  “Remember,” Robert whispered, “he hasn't met us yet.”

  “What do you...” Morgan began softly.

  “That should do it,” the traveler interr
upted, pointing at a generator that looked like a complete piece of junk. “Hey, Mac! How much for this old generator?”

  “For that fine piece of re-purposed equipment?” a greasy green man in his mid-fifties – who Morgan recognized as Karl – asked. “Fifteen-hundred ought to do it.”

  “Fifteen-hundred?!” the traveler exclaimed. “Have you got some kind of brain fever? You might need to see a Doctor.”

  “Well...” Karl replied thoughtfully. “As it's slightly weathered, we can make it fourteen-fifty.”

  “We both know it's only worth about two-fifty.”

  “Two-fifty?!” he yelled. “Are you wanting to buy the generator or just the bolts that hold it together? Thirteen-hundred.”

  “It's going to cost me that much to have the rust sand-blasted off of it. I'll give you four hundred.”

  “The rust is in your head. Eleven hundred.”

  “Do I look like a have a concussion? Five hundred.”

  “If I don't get eight hundred, I'll be taking a loss.”

  “Then, whoever sold it to you cheated you. Seven fifty, final offer.”

  “You need a receipt?” Karl asked with a wide smile.

  “No,” Robert said, shaking his head. “But, you do have some more junk that I might be willing to haul off for you.”

  “I don't sell junk. I sell quality used merchandise.”

  After briefly debating this point, Robert gave Karl a long list of miscellaneous items – most of which Morgan didn't recognize. The two finally agreed on a total price of ten-thousand (including a delivery fee), which the traveler paid immediately by pulling a wad of bills from his pocket and handing it to Karl.

  “This is just over eleven thousand!” Karl pointed out.

  “Eh, keep the change,” Robert smiled. “How long will it take you to get it all to my ship?”

  “Say, three hours.”

  “Pleasure doing business with you,” Robert said, shaking him by the hand.

  With their task completed, the two young men headed back toward their vessel.

  “Rob...” Morgan said thoughtfully as they strolled along. “This was the fourth time I've gone to Karl's.”

  “It was mine, too. We always seem to go together.”

  “He didn't know us this time.”

  “You noticed that?”

  “So... it seems like he's only seen us three times.”