Voyagers!

White Flag

Voyager Phineas Bogg tossed his arms up frustrated. "I can't believe you literally walked the baby to the table with all that sharp junk! Why did you stop me, Jeff? Did you think I was gonna stand there and watch while the little guy poked his eye out?"

"Of course not! But he was the red light and you couldn't interfere! He had to be at that spot. And for the historical record, he didn't lose his eye." His young partner, Jeffrey Jones, insisted.

"Says who? This is 1812. In case you haven't noticed, they're poor farm people eking out a living here, do you think they can afford a doctor? And what do you mean I couldn't? I was right there, all I had to do was grab the tool from little grip."

Phineas clenched his fists. If the child went blind, he'd be wracked with guilt. However, he reasoned that it could've been much worse. The baby might have killed himself.

"No, Bogg, this had to happen. Trust me, they're not that poor. His family owned a vineyard and a large vegetable garden for income. Now stop yelling and check the omni already, will ya!" Jeffrey demanded.

Phineas Bogg grabbed Jeffrey by the shoulders, but resisted the urge shove him into the hay pile. The boy was stubborn as a mule.

Jeffrey's dark-eyed gaze pierced him. "Shaking me up doesn't scare me anymore, Bogg. I know you too well already, you won't hurt me."

"Smart kids are a pain in my a…arrh! Never mind!"

"A pain in your assets. That's what my father used to say around me."

Phineas released him and stalked around the in a circle, his face etched with sorrow. The screams that had erupted from inside the harness shop jolted both Phineas and the leather-worker. He'd wanted to help, but Jeffrey dragged him away after the little child's mother rushed inside with her husband and daughters to tend to his bleeding wound. The toddler's tiny, sniveling moans could be heard from down the road and it tore Phineas' heart.

"I saw that mischievous look in his eyes, he really wanted to touch those tools. You told me to leave the store and distract his father. I would've eventually asked the man where we were and then figure out why we had a red…"

"Bogg, will ya can it and just check the omni!"

Phineas gruffly unlatched the omni from his belt and opened it. A smile passed his lips and a deep relief coursed through him, the same emotions he felt with every green light. He no longer had his Voyagers Guidebook for confirmation, but rather a smart mouthed pre-teen he'd picked up in his travels less than a month earlier.

Fixing history now became a huge game of chance. There was a chance the boy's memory was faulty, or he hadn't reached that point of history in his school studies.

So far so good.

Phineas and Jeffrey had gotten off to a rough start, but managed to make amends before saving the invention of the airplane. But the bickering carried on and Phineas still needed more time to get used to a kid for a partner. He needed to adjust to having a partner period. Now he was responsible for another life besides his own and those he helped in the time zones. The idea staggered his ego and his playboy reputation tarnished with each passing day.

The Voyagers had landed in a small farming village in Coupvray, France, 1812. It was a brisk, late spring day and the pleasantries of the people and quaint life was marred only by the omni's red light. Phineas insisted that it must've been something wrong with the upcoming war and Emperor Bonaparte, but Jeffrey was quick to disagree. The events unfolded fast.

Phineas wanted to roam the village in hopes that Jeffrey would recognize a name or a face, and the first place in view was the harness shop.

"I heard his mother say the nearest hospital was miles away. They had some medicinal woman in the village that could help. But herbs just won't cut it this time, I know it." Phineas muttered. He kicked around hay in a last ditch attempt to release his frustration. "I guess the Braille family knows what's best for their son. Poor little guy. I can only imagine the pain, the eyes are very sensitive organs."

Jeffrey glanced up at the frazzled young man. Phineas still didn't understand that he was only trying to do what a real Voyager does and save history. He grabbed his arm and readied himself for their next cosmic take-off.

"Bogg, do you know who that little boy is? You just said his name, does it ring any bells?"

"Yeah, his mother only screamed it a thousand times, Louis! My Louis! Lou…"

Phineas slapped his forehead and looked up as a recollection struck him.

"Of course! Louis Braille! 'He opened the door to knowledge for all those that cannot see.' The blind writing system! The bumps, dots…Braille! Boy, do I feel like an idiot."

Jeffrey smiled. "Don't beat yourself up, it wasn't too obvious…well, they did have that large awning that said 'Braille's Harness Works' out front, but I didn't want to tell you right away either."

Phineas reset the omni and smirked. "I saw that sign, but I wasn't thinking. I'm sure they weren't the only 'Braille's' in France, right? Why didn't you say anything? Are you trying to test me or something?"

Jeffrey poked his waist. "Something like that! I've been a little brain drained, Bogg. I was hoping you would've gotten this one, or caught on. Do you really think I'd let a toddler touch that knife if it wasn't part of history?"

Phineas lowered his head, embarrassed. "No, I don't think that. I wish it didn't happen at all, but that's the way history goes. I guess I haven't been much help to the cause lately."

"No, Bogg, you're a big help. You saved my tuba a lot, but you just don't know much about history. I've got to accept that." He sighed loudly.

Phineas rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. Okay, smart guy, to add to your historical record, that wasn't a knife Louis grabbed, it was a stitching awl, it's a tool used to poke holes through rough leather and hides. I used to use them too, how do you think I got this vest? But what am I saying? You're the brains, I'm the brawn, that's why I keep you around." Phineas teased him.

Jeffrey looked away disheartened "Thanks a lot, Bogg, I thought it was because we're…"

Phineas squeezed his shoulder. "Jeff, we are friends. Sometimes friends have disagreements. Lately we've had too many. I'm sorry, kid. Can I wave the white flag this time?"

Phineas held out his hand and Jeffrey finally looked him in the eye. He laughed and shook his hand with as much strength as he could muster.

"Fine, Brawny!"

"Thanks Brain-drain! Let's get out of here before the actual war of 1812 starts and we get cannon bombed again."

"Sure! Hey, this time can I try pressing the…"