WHAT HAPPENS IN THE PAST

(STAYS IN THE PAST)

By Keith M. Shaw

Author's Note:

I apologize to fans of Buck Rogers and me for not writing recently. With the combination of work, life, family, my band, football season, hockey season, and a Playstation 3 game called White Knight Chronicles, there just hasn't been enough hours in the day to get everything done that I would like. But now that football and hockey season is done (at least for me and my teams!), hopefully I'll have more time to write. I have a couple Buck Rogers projects underway, two solo and one soon to be posted collaboration with another Buck Rogers author. The first solo one will hopefully bring some resolution to Buck's feeling guilty about the holocaust. The second one will bring back Princess Ardala for her coronation, which will not exactly go as planned! So thank you for being patient with me and hopefully you'll like the new stories as much as the first three. If I do lapse, please do not hesitate to coax me into posting more. Sometimes I just need some outside motivation! And please keep the reviews coming. I do listen to them, and often I respond personally to them. Without further ado, I present chapter 1.

If you have not read my story entitled "A Stitch in Time" yet, please read it before this story. It will make a lot more sense!

Chapter 1

The kitchen was abuzz with activity. Buck Rogers scurried about the cook stove and the counter top like a rabbit being chased by a fox, the whole time muttering almost inaudible gibberish to himself. Faintly he heard the apartment door open, but didn't bother to turn around to see who it was. As soon as the door closed, he heard the unmistakable sounds of metal feet trotting across the living room floor toward the kitchen.

"Hi, Twiki," Buck said, without looking up from his concoction.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Hi'ya, Buck."

"Did you enjoy your date with Tina?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep: What a lady!"

Buck had to grin and turn around to face the little ambuquad. "So how often does her cruise ship get into port?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: not enough."

Buck nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean, Little Buddy. I know what you mean."

He turned back around to layer another row of wide noodles into the pan. He then picked up the container of sauce and poured it overtop the noodles.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: is Wilma coming over tonight?"

Buck nodded. "Yep. We're all set to go on our vacation tomorrow so I'm making her dinner tonight."

"Do you know where you're taking her yet?"

Buck shook his head. "Nope. I'm just winging it. I'll point my ship in a direction and let the winds take us where they will."

"What'cha making for dinner?"

Buck turned to face the quad again. He stood up tall and puffed out his chest. "Lasagna and garlic toast, made from fresh homemade bread."

"Where did you get all the ingredients?"
Buck smirked slightly. "Don't ask."

"What if Wilma asks?"

His smirk widened slightly. "I think she knows better than to ask anymore."

He turned around and opened the oven door, then carefully placed the pan onto the first rack. When the pan was safely inside, he slowly closed the door and smiled.

"There, it's in. Give it an hour to cook, then I'll throw the bread in for a few minutes and we'll be ready to eat!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: you need to write a cookbook, Buck."

Buck broke into laughter. "Right..., a cookbook. Of all the..." Suddenly he stopped for a moment, furrowed his eyebrows, and rubbed his chin. "A cookbook," he mused softly. "That's not such a bad idea, Twiki!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: you could call it, 'Not Your Parents' Cookbook.'"

Buck nodded once as he continued to muse on the idea. "Cookbook. That's not a bad idea," he repeated.

Just then the door buzzer sounded. Buck lay down his spatula and moved quickly toward the door. He looked at the mini monitor and saw a man in a brown uniform carrying some kind of package. He turned to face the little android.

"Twiki, have you been ordering things on my card again?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: not since you changed your password again," he admitted.

"You mean I finally came up with a password you can't figure out?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: it's only a matter of time, Buck. I'll figure out this one too, heh heh."

Buck merely nodded once. "Good luck."

The door buzzer sounded again. Finally Buck tapped the button to allow the door to slide open almost silently. The deliveryman quickly showed his identification badge. "Good afternoon, sir. I'm from Interstellar Package Delivery Corp. I have a delivery for a Buck Rogers."

Buck nodded again. "That's me." He reached into his back pocket to find his identification card. He showed it to the deliveryman for confirmation. "I wasn't expecting anything. Who's it from?"

The man looked at the invoice on his digital readout. "It's from someone named Hieronomous Fox."

Buck smiled broadly at the sound of the name. "Ahh, I wonder what he's sending me this time."

He signed the digital scanner and accepted the package. "Thank you, Sir," the man said cheerfully. "Have a nice evening."

"Yeah, you too."

The man turned on his heels and swiftly moved down the hall. Buck backed back into the apartment as the door slid shut.

"I wonder what he sent me this time?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: you did tell him not to send you anymore of his special hot sauce, didn't you?"

Buck instantly nodded once. "Oh, yeah. I love hot sauce, but that stuff was nasty! Stunk up the entire apartment for a week."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: it even burned my eyes!"

Buck grinned and shook his head. "Right." He handed the package to the quad. "Here, put this on the coffee table, would you? I have to go work on my garlic toast."

Twiki accepted the package as Buck quickly crossed the apartment toward the kitchen area. "Beep-be-de-de-beep: what do you think it is?"

Buck shrugged as he leaned down behind the counter to find a sharp knife out of the drawer. "Dunno. Knowing Hieronomous, though, it could be anything. I didn't smell anything through the packaging."

Suddenly a loud explosion sounded throughout the apartment. Buck tried to stand up, but was thrown backwards by the force of the blast. Instantly the entire apartment filled with noxious fumes and smoke. Buck started to crawl toward the front door, but only managed to get a few feet before succumbing to the fumes and smoke. He collapsed to the floor in a heap.