“Don’t go getting bent out of shape on this, Captain.” Ashton drilled her with her blue eyes. “You don’t have a choice in the matter.”
Delia saw the pit-bull look appear on her face and knew there was no use arguing with the former Marine Corps officer. “Yes, ma’am, I hear you.”
“You don’t have to agree with our change of policy, but you do have to take a partner,” Ashton growled. “I’m ordering you to team up with Captain Jake Tyler. He’s U.S. Army Special Forces. His mother is a professor of history at Cornell University and his father a professor of medicine.”
She pulled out a file and handed it to Delia. “Tyler has psychic abilities as a mind reader. He’s got a degree in electrical engineering and a minor in Roman culture, which is why he was chosen. He knows all about the societal framework of that period and will provide excellent backup to your own psychic skills.”
Shock bolted through Delia and she barely heard Ashton’s words. The only ones that registered seemed to burn into her heart, filling her with rage. Captain Jake Tyler…!
Choking, she rasped, “There’s no way in hell you’re hooking me up with that Neanderthal bastard, General. No way!” She started to rise out of her chair.
Ashton’s arm shot out like a snake striking. She gripped Delia’s forearm. “Sit down, Captain. And let’s just turn down the volume on this tirade, shall we?”
Delia sank back in her seat and Ashton released her arm, still scowling disapprovingly. Okay, so she wasn’t behaving rationally about this, Delia admitted. But Tyler always stirred up that kind of violent reaction in her—from the aching need to be in his arms, to sharing his bed, to blinding anger. Glaring at the general, she growled, “Then tell me why you’d ever team me up with that caveman?”
“He might be a Neanderthal,” Ashton retorted, “but he’s got the right credentials for this mission. His background is exactly what is needed to find that bronze piece from the Karanovo seal.”
After clearing her throat, Athena interjected, “Delia, remember what is at stake here. In the Ad Astra journal I translated, Argenta admitted she was a ‘plant’ from the Pleiades, not an Earthling.”
“She’s an alien?” Delia felt her eyes grow round as she snapped her head toward the professor.
“Yes,” Athena said emphatically. “From what I can piece together from the recent journal pages you retrieved, she was deliberately planted here by the Galactic Council. As a mole to spy on our civilization. Argenta was from the constellation Pleiades and they were a part of that council.”
Stunned, Delia stared at both women, who nodded almost in unison. “But…why? Alien? We knew from her journals that the Pleiadians were enlisted by the Council to embed some sort of message into the twelve pieces of the disk. But this is a new twist.”
“Argenta was an alien monitor planted here on Earth,” Athena told her. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one to give Servilia that section of the seal. I can’t prove it. There’s nothing in her journal to make my guess a fact, but my gut tells me so.”
“This is a real shocker,” Delia exclaimed, her mind running wild with questions. “If Argenta was an alien checking out our civilization at that time, doesn’t it stand to reason that the Council might have planted a different monitor with another piece at another time and age? Twelve monitors? Twelve pieces of the stamp?”
“Exactly,” Athena said, clearly pleased with Delia’s lightning-quick deductions. “Of course, that is conjecture. It might not be so. But we’ve come to suspect that the Galactic Council dropped several ‘bread crumbs’ throughout Earth’s history, over a very long period, to see if we would ever find them. If we did discover them, gather all twelve pieces and put the seal back together again, then we could contact this alien council directly.”
Delia’s shock over Tyler coming warred with the amazing news the professor had just shared with her. “And you already know that the Pleiadians are involved, from other passages in Argenta’s journals. It appears that constellation was chosen by the Galactic Council to implement this plan on earth”
“Yes. But now,” Athena said, “we have more of an understanding of why this alien culture is interested in us as a planet and people.” She looked over at Ashton. “General, do you want to share the rest of the information with Delia?”
The woman gave a brisk nod, fixing her narrowed gaze on Delia. “Captain, I think once you realize the enormity of what we’re going to divulge, you’ll drop your objections to Tyler going along on this mission. According to the decoded text in Argenta’s journal, the Pleiadians want Earth to join their galactic alliance, even though we humans are considered a backward and primitive species by their council. They decided to cut into pieces the Karanovo seal embossed with the twelve constellations—imagery representing the twelve star systems that comprise the council. They were planning to place a piece in each culture and age as Earth progressed over the millennia. They said that until we could become heart-centered and compassionate, a planet of peace, we could not join their alliance. But apparently they saw enough glimmers of potential, felt enough hope when they first met Earthlings long ago, that they ‘seeded’ the planet with these sections of the seal. If we can send specialists back in time to retrieve them, bring them together to the present era, we might reassemble the seal and send the message that we’re ready to join the alliance.”
Rubbing her brow, Delia said, “But how do we know if this is a positive thing, General? Maybe the Galactic Council wants to enslave us. If their technology is that advanced, they might very well do so. They could have some pretty dark plans for us, a situation that could be triggered if we find those twelve pieces and put in a call to them.”
“We’ve talked it over,” Athena assured her. “In fact, Argenta made note of one alien culture that is trying to take over Earth and its inhabitants. There’s an entry in her journal where she names Kentar, lord of the Centaurian constellation, as an enemy to Earth. She speaks of Centaurian monitors coming to Earth to try and enslave us.”
“So,” Delia said, “you think the Pleiadians and the Galactic Council represent the positive side in this scenario?”
Ashton sighed. “It appears that way. We really don’t know yet. We’re hoping that as you hunt down the first fragment of the Karanovo seal we’ll find out more about the council. Nowhere in the Ad Astra journal did Argenta say the Galactic Council had any diabolical plans for enslaving us as the Centaurians do.”
Grimacing, Delia said, “Well, if Argenta was Pleiadian, she’s not going to speak out against her own kind, is she?”
“Obviously not,” Ashton said. “But the critical scenario before us is why we need you to team up with Tyler. He’s already been briefed and is on his way here, by the way.” The general shook her head. “There is just too much at stake, Captain. We need a team to handle this highly sensitive mission. We know that Centaurians are our enemy. Were they active in that era? What do they look like? Will they be easy to spot? We don’t know. And are Pleiadians as friendly as they seem to be? Do they really hold us to a higher purpose and call? This new time-travel mission will be different from any we’ve experienced.”
“Another thing we don’t know is whether some other group might be aware of this disk,” the professor interjected. “Argenta’s journal was handed down through time, coming to me for translation after the university bought it in an auction. The journal could have been decoded by others through the centuries. Latin is easy to translate, even when written backward. It takes time, but anyone with a lot of patience can do it. So who else might possibly know about it? And might they have located the missing pages?”
“An even more provocative and worrisome question,” Ashton stated, “is what if those missing pages are in the hands of someone else here, right now? What if they know the rest of the story, like we do?”
“Even if they did,” Delia protested, “they don’t have the ability to go back in time and find the pieces.”
Holding up h
er hand, Athena said, “Not so fast. Remember, the segments are solid bronze, and survive through the centuries. You don’t have to time-jump to find them, although we feel that it’s an easier method than any other. Twelve pieces buried in twelve different time periods…If someone had enough money and a desire to track them down, they could hire archaeologists to do just that.” She frowned. “If that is so, and a person or group with less than stellar principles gets to these seals first, the world could be in a lot of trouble. Maybe the Centaurians are here right now, working to find them with some greedy individual hungry for power.”
“Which is why,” the general growled, “it’s imperative we get started with this mission immediately. As soon as you two discover the first piece and bring it back Professor Carswell will use it to determine where the second piece might be.”
“That’s right,” Athena told Delia. “In her journal, Argenta hinted that when one piece was found, directions to a second segment would be on it. Everything is encrypted in a mathematical code. Once I break that code, we can send a second team out. Each fragment brought back should give us information about the next one.”
“We are assuming there is another party looking for them,” Ashton warned Delia gravely. “Plus these Centaurians may know about them. If that is so, then we potentially have two different enemies trying to find these pieces before we do.”
The professor smiled. “I don’t disagree with you, General, but an ace up our sleeve is that we can time travel.” She looked at Delia. “And frankly, we feel you’re the best candidate, along with Captain Tyler, to recover that first piece. You are Greek by birth. You know the Greek culture like no one else. I’ll be sending you and Tyler back as Greek mercenaries. You speak the language fluently, although I will be imprinting both of you with all the language skills, social customs, historical information and anything else you might need to fade into this culture. Armed as you are with your present-day knowledge, Delia, we can think of no one else better suited for this mission than you two.”
“Yes. The entire Time Raider project is resting on your shoulders, Captain,” Ashton warned. “Which is why you’ve got to put aside any personal baggage you have with Captain Tyler. It’s going to take two of you to get this mission accomplished. Now do you understand?”
The weight of the world seemed to settle around Delia’s shoulders as she sat there, hands folded on the table. “Yes, ma’am, I get it.” Glancing at Athena, she asked, “Do we know what will happen if we get all twelve pieces and contact the Pleiadian council?”
“Argenta said in her journal that it would be a very good thing,” the professor replied. “That Earth could join as a full member, with all the rights accorded to it. Whatever that means.”
“Humph,” Delia said. “Is their agenda any different from our known enemies, the Centaurians, then?”
“Good question,” the general grumbled. “The only way to find out is to get through these twelve missions and see what happens.”
Taking a deep breath, Delia stared at her clenched hands, noting how white her knuckles were. Inwardly, her heart was in chaos over the fact that Jake Tyler was going to time-jump with her. He’d once been her lover. Their breakup had been an emotional earthquake for Delia for she had loved him with a desperation she had never experienced before or since.
That had been two years ago, but she wasn’t over it yet.
Delia knew Jake was in the Time Raider program, but she had managed to avoid him completely.
Damn, how was she going to handle the mission and him?
Chapter 2
“C aptain Tyler is here, Del,” the lab assistant said from the door of the planning room. “He’s with the professor and general in the main conference room.”
Frowning, Delia closed the file she’d been looking at. It was time for the coming jump. “Thanks, Josie. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Delia drew a deep breath and let it out slowly as she listened to the familiar sound of Birkenstocks slapping the flagstones as the lab assistant walked on. Delia wanted to be alone for a few moments more to absorb the details of the mission. Taking the armband off the table in front of her, she slipped it into a pocket of her lab coat, then fingered the mission folder numbly, trying to calm her roiling feelings and wildly pumping heart. How to deal with Tyler? He was so damned arrogant.
Delia felt her body tingling in anticipation, in spite of her annoyance. She’d always responded that way before meeting Jake back when they had been lovers. Frowning, she smoothed her pink angora sweater as she got to her feet. January in Flagstaff meant freezing temperatures and snow. Grabbing the file, she forced herself to move toward the main conference room.
Heading across the lab, Delia eyed the huge glass cylinder that rose from the floor to the twelve-foot-high ceiling. Inside were two chairs. She’d sat in one and been sent back in time more often than any other volunteer.
Off to the left was Athena’s brown leather chair. On a wooden stand next to it, locked in a glass box, was the precious headband that had been discovered by U.S. Army officials after the saucer had crashed in the New Mexico desert near Roswell.
Always fascinated with the object, Delia slowed her pace to look at it. The silver metal was shaped to fit Athena’s head. It had two flaps that hugged the sides of her skull, each holding a beautiful, clear quartz crystal cabochon. The stones had a slightly lavender glow.
Delia’s psychic gift was the ability to see auras and colors around objects and people. She gazed in wonder, watching the lavender color ebb and flow. So much magic was captured in those memory crystals, she knew.
Athena Carswell’s genius was to break the mathematical code on the frequency contained in them and harness time jumping. Someone had been wearing that headband during the Roswell crash, the professor was convinced. Whoever it was must have had a stroke or some other kind of brain malfunction.
Pulling herself back to the challenge at hand, Delia walked on. The door to the main conference room was partly open, and she could hear Jake’s deep voice. Her heart squeezed at the memory of his breath brushing across her sensitized body, and she bit her lip as she hugged the mission file to her breast. Jake. Oh, God, how was she going to handle this meeting? It had been so hard breaking up with him! But she hated his determination to control everyone he met—most of all her.
Pulling open the door, Delia saw Jake standing with Athena and General Ashton at one end of the long, polished table. He wore a suede blazer the same color as his dark brown hair, a light blue polo shirt that brought out the stormy hue of his intelligent eyes, and Levi’s that showed off his long, powerful legs.
Swallowing, Delia met his gaze as he lifted his head. She knew how adept he was at mind reading, and she purposely set up a wall around her thoughts, wanting to make sure he couldn’t know how she really felt.
“Hi, Del,” Jake said in greeting. “Long time no see.”
Delia saw at once that Professor Carswell and General Ashton seemed to be under the spell of the ruggedly handsome soldier. “Tyler,” she muttered defensively. Turning, she made sure the conference door was shut, and then sat down at the far end of the table, as far as she could from Jake, who was standing at the head of it. Delia nodded to the two women.
Placing the file on the table, she was glad when Athena sat next to her, General Ashton opposite. Everyone got to the business at hand, much to Delia’s relief. Giving Jake a quick glance out of the corner of her eye, she found she couldn’t ignore him any more than the other women. His face was square, with an aquiline nose and sensual mouth. Her body flared to life as she recalled his strong, compelling lips sliding across her skin. Biting the inside of her cheek, Delia tried to forget. It was impossible.
And then Jake lifted his head, his gaze directed at her. Feeling as if he’d read her thoughts, she scowled at him. Whenever Jake sent out mental probes to read a mind, her scalp always prickled in warning. That hadn’t happened. So how had he known she was reliving those torrid, searching
kisses he’d given her so long ago?
“How have you been, Del?” Jake asked conversationally. He gave her a smile of welcome as everyone opened their briefing files. It was too easy to lose himself in her golden-brown eyes, framed with those thick, black lashes. Her hair was shoulder length, slightly curly, and her Greek blood evident by her glowing olive complexion.
“Fine,” she growled.
Jake remembered the first time he’d met Delia, on the plains of Afghanistan during a military operation. He’d thought she was a beautiful Greek goddess come to life. Even in a helmet, Kevlar vest and camouflage gear, carrying an M-16 on her hip, she couldn’t hide the fact she was a sensual woman. Jake didn’t try to push away the memory of that first meeting. Delia had been a Marine Corps captain in charge of her squad, and all business. But what a body! And what a mouth! On the field of battle no woman wore makeup, but Delia didn’t have to. She was haunting to Jake, a fever that had never left his bloodstream. Even now he could feel his lower body tightening with memory and need for her.
Delia smarted beneath that hooded, hot gaze Jake was turning on. He was still so sure of himself and his masculinity. Clearly, nothing had changed since she’d broken up with him. Six feet tall, he had a boxer’s body without an inch of flab anywhere on it. Trying not to look at his long, well-shaped hands, or his callused palms, she found her nerves rippling in response. Stop it! she ordered herself sternly. Stop it, stop it, stop it! What’s past is past!
Delia vaguely heard General Ashton and Professor Carswell bringing Jake up to speed on last-minute changes to the mission. Her heart wouldn’t stop pounding. She kept her gaze pinned on the mission-brief pages, her hands flat on the table in front of her. It was common knowledge at Time Raiders that she and Jake had once been a red-hot item. Which was why she avoided him at every opportunity.
Time Raiders: The Seeker Page 2