by Mara Amberly
“Then you probably do,” Eric murmured, as he waited for Cora to grab her bag.
Chapter 13
December 2135 – Shenalon Docking Facility, Antarctica
“Something isn’t right here,” Eric murmured, as he strode through the empty corridors of the dock. They weren’t ultra-modern like much of his planet; they were more reminiscent of his ship’s cargo bay.
It wasn’t long before they found debris strewn over the floor. Eric recognised the remnants of broken crates of the same kind that sat in his ship’s cargo hold. There was dirt and in some places pieces of broken tech.
He knelt down to examine it. It had been this way for some time; at least a few years by his estimation.
“We need to figure out where the dock-workers went, though I have a suspicion we’re not going to like the answer.”
“Are you saying they’re dead?” Cora asked, folding her arms protectively as she searched along the corridor.
“Dead or gone,” Eric clarified. “It wasn’t like this before, in the base’s future. I think we might have changed the timeline or more likely, someone has intentionally travelled back in time to target the base. I don’t know why they’d do that but there’s a lot I don’t know about.”
“You can’t know that for sure though?” Cora asked.
“We should’ve met with heavy security when we disembarked the ship. This is the gateway to the base.”
“Can we still get over there?”
“Let’s find out,” Eric replied. He knew one way or another he could find a way, even if he had to make his own.
They followed the passages along, passing several security checkpoints that were unmanned. Water glistened on the floor, and Cora noticed at the edges of the puddle, the floor had been stained a dark red-brown.
“Eric, look at this,” she said, guiding him over to what she’d seen.
“It looks like blood,” he replied, studying it.
Eric glanced at his wrist device. “TSAI, scan the surrounding area for blood traces and display holographically.”
“Scanning,” it replied, and then a wide beam of light projected from the device. It overlaid the image of bright orange pools on the floor.
There were five on the floor, though the holographic effect wasn’t displayed behind Eric and Cora, as their solid presence blocked the beam.
“That’s terrifying,” Cora said.
Eric nodded. It had seemed like yesterday that he’d last walked through these corridors when everything was well.
“TSAI, disable hologram. Scan for life signs in the vicinity.”
The AI answered in a pleasant female voice. “Hologram disabled. Query disabled due to security protocols in effect. Please try again.”
“I didn’t think that would work,” he told Cora.
“TSAI, prepare short jump to coordinates 45 by 16 by 0 – cargo bay, time static.”
“Jump prepared,” it replied obediently.
“What’s that?” Cora asked as they walked on, sidestepping debris on the floor.
“A backup plan,” Eric replied. “If it works, but we might need to go outside to use it.”
“I guess it’s good to have options?”
“I’m a big fan of options. The stairs are this way,” he said. “I’m not sure the elevator’s safe.”
They made their way down stairs that seemed to go on forever. The dock was situated on top of the glacier, so Cora wondered if it meant they were making their way beneath it.
The corridors became more like tubes, though they were still massive.
“I’m curious; why would your people need a base like this here? It must receive a lot of traffic to be this size, and yet if many ships come and go, it can’t be particularly secret.”
“The base has a few functions. While it’s true my people have been studying your world, Earth is a location of strategic significance. There aren’t many friendly, habitable planets in this sector of space. The base offers supplies and services that our people and allied races would be hard-pressed to find so far from home. Not that many ships dock here, because goods can be transported aboard using a more-permanent form of rift technology.”
They passed some seats and came to a place Cora recognised as having an airlock. It had a window that looked out over the water and she studied the view, before turning back to Eric.
A woman’s voice caught them off-guard, as a stranger approached from a door branching off the corridor. She was an older woman, who was warmly dressed, which was hardly surprising in Antarctica.
“There’s no simple way on to the base anymore and there’s not much of it left now. I wasn’t here when it happened but I saw the destruction.”
Eric turned to her while stepping a bit closer to Cora, should he have to protect his friend.
“Who did this?” he asked, “and what happened to all of the people stationed there?”
He had other questions too, like ‘who are you?’, but he was getting to that.
“Our own military did this. The crew stationed on the base were recalled home. Some disobeyed orders and stayed behind. They were the ones who didn’t make it out.”
“And you?” Cora asked.
“My husband was the second in command. I came here seeking answers,” she said. “I found them.”
Eric couldn’t help but ask the question on his mind. “Then why did you stay?”
“I’ve been living on the mainland. You chose a day to visit when I decided to revisit the ghosts of the past. They didn’t just target this base. I heard they destroyed all of them. The Valterans destroyed every base and piece of technology that might fall into enemy hands. They had no intention of returning. I haven’t gone back to the planet but I know someone who did – Sergeant Jefferson, and I didn’t hear from him again.”
“How did you know I’m Valteran,” he asked, “and that she’s not?” Eric nodded to Cora.
The elder woman gave her wrist a tap, and Eric knew she’d recognised his wrist device. She didn’t seem to have one, but most people didn’t; it was a rare piece of technology.
“I also saw your ship dock. It was a bold move, bringing it down here.”
“I didn’t know what had happened,” he replied, through waves of sadness.
When she glanced at Cora, there was a sense of knowing in her eyes, but Eric wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“My name’s Juliane. I was a sculptor by profession, and events placed me in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Eric was accepting that with a grain of salt for now, but he nodded. If it was true, then so many of their people had been betrayed by their own military – no, their own government.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Juliane, and a shame it couldn’t be under better circumstances. I believe those who attacked the base must’ve travelled back in time to do it and were probably trying to prevent retaliation before it could happen. They knew what they were doing was wrong and many of our people would opt to challenge them. Our people’s attempt at ascension was at the cost of everyone else.”
The pieces were falling into place for Cora.
“They created the fractures in time?” she asked, though she remembered Eric blaming himself for that.
“It was a result of their ascension while I was travelling in time. I mistakenly thought I could gain an advantage and it would give me time to reach our off-world contacts for help. I already knew their actions would weaken the fabric of the universe, and could potentially be catastrophic for other races, especially in the Valteran sector. I never thought they would change the timeline to prevent interference.”
“That means you could go back in time and save my husband, and the others?” Juliane asked. “These people shouldn’t have died and the Valteran government should never have gotten away with this.”
“I’m not sure you know what you’re asking,” Eric said. “The paradoxes would be so complex, it would be nearly impossible not to tangle up our own time frame and t
heirs.”
“You wouldn’t have to fight them though, would you? You’d just need to let them know what’s going to happen before it does, so they can avoid it,” Cora suggested.
“When did you get so good at this?” Eric asked.
“I pay attention,” she said, shrugging.
It only added pressure that Eric should do something, but if he was honest with himself he wanted to. He was disgusted by the actions of his own people.
No, he decided. They weren’t his people. Not the perpetrators of these attacks.
“I’ll consider it,” he promised, though he could tell Juliane was looking for a more solid answer.
Juliane smiled, but not without tears forming in her eyes. It may have been with hope and not just sadness.
“I’ll need all the information you can give me about the attack on the base, and I’m going to need to see what’s left there. The crew will take our information more seriously if we can give them some proof and they know what to expect.”
“You’ll have it,” Juliane promised. “The transport to the base is no longer functioning and it’s open to the water. You’d need a diving suit to get in there, and it’s difficult because of the rubble and bodies,” she said sadly.
Cora grimaced. It sounded nightmarish, trying to make her way into that base beneath ice-cold water, knowing what happened there.
Eric could tell with a glance that she didn’t want to go, and he would respect that.
“Do you have any diving gear with you?” Eric asked.
He knew there wasn’t any aboard his ship, though space suits could tolerate extremes of temperature. They would be bulkier and that might prove awkward or dangerous in the close confines of the base. They were also hundreds of years old.
“Not with me, but I can get some easily enough.”
“What does that cost in this day and age?”
He’d have to see what compatible currency he had aboard his ship.
“If you’ll try to save my husband, the least I can do is give you the supplies you need to do it. You can stay with me on the mainland if you wish.”
Eric had his ship, but perhaps if he took Juliane up on her offer, it would give them more opportunity to plan the mission. He glanced at Cora, who gave him a tentative smile.
“I think we’ll accept your offer. You have my word I’ll warn the Shenalon crew if I can. Your husband would be a good point of contact?”
Juliane nodded eagerly. “He would. He’s in a position of authority on the base and if he knows what’s at stake, I know he’ll listen; especially if he talks to me.”
Cora looked momentarily confused. “If you’re aboard the ship,” she said, addressing Juliane, “and the message changes the timeline, what happens to the ‘you’ on the ship with us?”
“The ship has chronyon shielding. If that doesn’t translate, it’s shielding against time particles. If Juliane’s on board, she won’t disappear. It’s the same as the shielding with my TSAI, and why I can go back to earlier times without risking this version of myself.”
“What about me?” Cora asked, a little nervously.
“That’s a good question and I didn’t think of it in light of everything else.”
Eric reasoned that she likely had that shielding in Tintagel, Cornwall, because it was a later version of Cora. That meant he must’ve given her a means of protecting herself before she went back to set events in motion.
Time was a tricky beast.
Cora’s eyes widened and Eric touched her arm reassuringly.
“I’ll give you a device when we get back to the ship. Don’t let me forget, alright?”
“I won’t,” she replied.
“The problem I can see with changing Juliane’s present,” he said, turning to speak to her, “is there will be two of you if we correct the timeline. I would urge you to stay at home and reintegrate with your other self, but I will leave the decision in your hands.”
“I think I would need to be there to talk to my husband directly,” Juliane said. Her voice was filled with hope but also a bittersweet sadness.
“Not necessarily. I could channel the transmission between your home and the ship, though changes could occur mid-mission. You might be better off remaining on board until it’s complete and then making a decision about what you want to do.”
Juliane dabbed at the corners of her eyes and nodded.
“That might be the best course of action,” she said. “I’ll be happy just as long as I know he’s safe and alive, and even if I can’t be with him as I am now, I would be happy if I could be in another form.”
Eric nodded, though he wondered if she might change her mind about that when the time came. If she had the choice to stay with her husband as she was now, she might take it.
“We can go back to the mainland when you’re ready. I have a mini-sub at anchor.”
Eric was surprised by the small village where Juliane was staying. It reminded him of a ski village, although the residences were self-sustaining and built to easily handle the subzero temperatures.
The cold was shocking, but then Eric and Cora weren’t properly dressed nor prepared for it. Juliane provided coats from a small docking port as soon as they reached land.
Juliane’s residence was small, certainly nothing special for the era, but Cora seemed to find it full of wonders. The walls were painted a soft cream colour, and the floors were formed of a hard, smooth, non-slip material that Eric didn’t recognise. He would’ve preferred carpet in the Antarctic, but the house was warm.
Juliane had a large number of keepsakes and sculptures, which leant weight to her assertions that she was a sculptor. Photos of her, a young boy and a man who was probably her husband moved subtly in the frames, as though he were watching videos. He didn’t ask who the boy was and where he was now. He may have been another reason Juliane wanted to change the past.
“There is a room off this one with bunk beds; you may stay there,” Juliane said.
Cora exchanged a glance with Eric, and he knew he’d have to figure out the sleeping arrangements later. More than likely he’d leave the room to her and sleep elsewhere in the house.
“Thank you,” he said, as he set down a bag of belongings in the living area.
“How long have you been here?” Eric asked.
He didn’t want to intrude too heavily, but he also wasn’t ready just yet to dive into the mission.
“Around ten years,” she said. “The accommodation on the base was limited, so I settled here. It was a rare privilege granted to high-ranking officers – to have family housed here because the existence of the base was secret. This whole village was built for us and we weren’t permitted to venture outside it. It’s something I’ve only done in the last year but I’ve always come back. This is my home now, you understand? I’m still surprised they didn’t attack the village, but they were probably targeting the technology or the troops more than us.”
“You were lucky you weren’t on the base,” Cora said, wanting to comfort Juliane. “It’s not fair you should have had to go through that.”
“I suppose,” Juliane replied.
She didn’t seem to want sympathy or compassion so much as help.
“If it can be changed, then things should be put right,” she said, as she sat in a chair and rested her feet. “Please, sit.”
Following her example, Eric and Cora sat down on a dark blue sofa that ran along the curved wall of her home.
Eric found it a good change of scenery, but it was hard to fully relax in a stranger’s home. Juliane still counted as a stranger, as much as he intended to help her. Trust would take time.
He watched as Juliane disappeared into the next room; the slight glimpse he’d got suggested a kitchen. Cora mightn’t have recognised it given the changes in technology, but she seemed distracted by the room they were in.
“Would you like something to eat?” Juliane asked as she returned with an open container.
“You’re
very kind. I would,” Cora replied eagerly.
Juliane held out to the container and the young woman gazed inside. “What are they?” she asked curiously, and with some slight trepidation.
“They’re biscuits, of course,” Juliane replied. “Chocolate coated.”
“Oh chocolate,” she replied as she helped herself to one. “I’ve seen it as a drink but not food.”
Eric took one as well, thanking Juliane.
“It’s so sweet,” she said, as she processed the flavour. “It reminds me of gingerbread with marzipan, only quite different.”
Juliane’s eyebrows couldn’t have risen much higher toward her hairline. When she glanced at Eric, he grinned.
Cora smiled back. “I think I may have a new favourite food.”
“You and half the universe,” Eric replied. “There are fields of cacao grown on Valtera now. Our people have a sweet tooth, or at least they did.”
Once they’d settled with more biscuits and tea, they moved to the dining room, where Juliane had activated the table’s holographic computer. Eric, Cora and Juliane sat along the side nearest the window, as the Valteran woman brought up images, documents and schematics for the ruined base. On the far right was a blank list that she titled ‘Items to buy’. The first item she added was diving gear for Eric.
“I know you have your ship, but the best method I’ve found for reaching the base is the mini-sub and diving gear to get in. We’ll need tools to cut through some blocked corridors,” she said, noting it down on the list.
“What kind would you suggest?” she asked Eric.
“A particle weapon that can disintegrate matter would be highly useful but risky to use underwater,” he said.
“Why is that?” Cora asked.
Eric scratched his head. “I was thinking in case we accidentally destabilised the corridors, but the chance is remote.”
“It would boil the water,” Juliane replied.
Eric nodded. “Burns are a possibility, but it’s the simplest way to clear blockages that would otherwise be impassable.”
“Like if a corridor collapsed?” Cora asked.