Voyagers!: Memories of Time's Past

Chapter 2: Expulsion

Voyagers Headquarters: 1-year later

The tall, Australian Voyager clasped his hands tight in front of him. He wanted to wipe the sweat beads on his brow, but he was afraid to move. Sitting at the Voyager Tribunal 'round table' with Council members Garth, Brindle, and Kane could at once be a privilege or a censure; in this case, he felt it was the latter. The meeting was not essentially about him, but rather a daunting mistake that was made during what Voyagers jokingly refer to as the 'plucking season.'

"Voyager Peters, we've done our quarterly review of the student records and historical documents of this candidate very carefully. We have come to the conclusion that at the time she was plucked, she was not prepared for this responsibility. Her emotional state was fragile and turbulent." Professor Garth said.

"We also recognize that the main cause of this behavior, was due to a past life which you intentionally neglected to inform us on. Why did you not reveal that Voyager Candidate AnnMarie Schaffer was involved in a romantic liaison with Voyager Phineas Bogg during the year 1699?" Brindle asked sharply, her green eyes narrowed to near slits.

Bobby Peters bristled under their stares. He was not surprised to see Voyager Kane's the most sympathetic. He breathed deeply and finally unfolded his hands.

"I didn't feel that was consequential to her being chosen as a candidate. It turned out she was already on the waiting list, even before she met Voyager Bogg."

"How do you reason that it wasn't consequential?" Kane asked. "We all know and should respect the code statutes that a Voyager field worker is not to become romantically involved…"

Bobby raised his hand. He secretly found that particular code very invasive to a Voyager's freedom of choice. "If I may interject here, Councillor, in 1699 Voyager Bogg was a young fickle pirate on his way to Rotterdam and AnneMarie was the spoiled daughter of a dubious Port Captain. Their relationship should not even be called to question. They weren't aware of their candidacy."

"But you were, Bobby. When the time came for new recruits, you, being Voyager Bogg's good friend, knew of his past with AnneMarie. Even if he didn't." Garth insisted.

"Honestly, Councillor Garth! We use the memory suppressants, which I for one am against. He wouldn't have known who she was." Bobby said defensively.

"But now look what happened. AnneMarie's caseworker revealed some of her conversations to us. She has been very disturbed by dreams of her past. These all started on the day of Voyager Bogg's trial. They must have made contact."

Bobby refrained from rolling his eyes. "This isn't a prison, Councillor. Voyagers are allowed to meet and greet each other. You should question the docs about that one. Perhaps their mind control is faulty."

"It is not mind control." Brindle said. "It's a very delicate process that causes no harm to the patient. It's vital to the cause to use it."

Bobby was not about to get into a heated discussion on the ethical repercussions of using memory suppressants. Despite his opinions, it had successfully worked this far along at Headquarters.

"Look, Voyager Bogg has been traveling with Jeffrey Jones for over two years now, he's barely at Headquarters. There's little chance they will meet before she's put out into the field. She still has a year left with her coursework."

Voyager Kane chose his next words carefully. "Voyager Peters, we respect your position on the matter, and we realize that you were trying to support a friend, but AnneMarie has not taken well to Voyagers Academy. She's a bit of a loose cannon. The reports are right here. Though intelligent, she's headstrong, argumentative with some of her peers and defies her professors on subjects which she knows next to nothing about…"

Bobby laughed abruptly. "Pfft…weren't we all like that at her age? During our first year of any school we're like babes! I've come to know AnneMarie. She may have those traits sometimes, but she's a high-quality Sheila. She's courageous, enterprising, honest and kind. I seem to recall Voyager Olivia Dunn having the same problem when she first came, and now she's one of our star Voyagers. How about Voyager 'Wild man' Wolfstein? Do his antics ring any bells, Professor Garth? You and he were in the same graduating class. He's an Academy legend. We take a gamble when we pluck people, ya know? We can only guesstimate so much of their background and upbringing and how that affects their personality and response as a Voyager."

"And that's why we have a probation period. Frankly, we've extended hers beyond three-months in hopes of seeing improvement. Don't be so surprised, Bobby. How many candidates have come and gone because they weren't up to snuff? There's no real harm done, they just go back to where they belong." Brindle retorted. "I will agree that AnneMarie Schaffer is a decent woman. She is someone who can perhaps make a difference and a significant mark on history, but, within her own era, not ours. She is to be expelled today."

Bobby let out a noisy puff of air, which garnered surprised looks from the Council members. He cleared his throat and tapped the table. His expression darkened.

"I don't understand this. But let me tell you something now. If I send AnneMarie Schaffer back, it will mean her certain death. I saw the feeds on the Chronological GPS system. That poor young girl was thrown from her horse in a storm, after being chased down by her maniac husband. She went flying off a cliff! And even if she survives, he will go after her again. She's bound to him." Bobby's normally friendly demeanor hardened and he rose angrily. "Don't sit there grinning like shot foxes and tell me that I have to send her back to that fate!"

Garth stood up. "We didn't call this meeting to argue the matter, only to explain our decision. Bobby, you are getting very out of line."

"No I'm not. I'm telling you, no, pleading with you. Let her stay. She can be molded just like anyone else. There are numerous job positions she can take part in. She doesn't have to be a field worker, if that's your concern."

"She's had an ample amount of time to prove herself Voyager material, Bobby, and she's just not ready. I'm not saying she never will be, but she needs the time." Garth tried to assure him. "We can recall her at a later date. We have too many other candidates to screen and interview now."

Bobby paced the imposing court office. "Sometimes I wonder if there's a double standard here. You allow rats like Drake to run the judiciary system, but keep a bright woman like Susan as a small-time attorney. And he'll have to forgive me for saying this, but you let a randy, inept rogue like Phineas Bogg become a field worker, despite nearly failing all of his courses, but AnneMarie gets thrust right back to a life of abuse? Perhaps Voyager Dunn's gender equality rants have merit after all."

"Voyager Peters, it has been decided. She is to be pulled from her classes this afternoon. She'll be sent to the medical center for preparation of the time-lapse phase upon her return to 1700 AD. She will not be sent off a cliff. You make us sound like inhumane monsters. We will send her to a short future time after that moment and she will have a chance to save herself."

Bobby had heard enough. He stormed to the door. "Sure, sure! I know all about the five-minute extension, Councilor Kane! I don't agree with this decision, and I plan to make a case."

Garth shook his head. "Bobby, you aren't doing yourself or your valued position here at Headquarters any favors."

"This is not about my job, Professor Garth. I'm just a Voyager lackey like everybody else. Remember, I was plucked too. I had a perfectly fine position ready for me in Washington DC as an intelligence analyst."

"Then perhaps you'd like to go right back to that cushy office?" Brindle shot back, her face reddened. "That can easily be arranged."

"Oh can it now? So this is what happens when someone disagrees with the Tribunal? I'm not trying to break Voyager codes and disrupt this fine system, and I say that with utmost respect. I know when to obey and when to hold my tongue. Leave that impulsiveness for the rookies. I'm concerned for a woman's very existence."

"And we are concerned for the cause! She's going home."

Bobby glared at Councilor Brindle. Now he understood why Voyager Bogg never took a liking to her, always joking that her bun was wound too tight, among other disgruntled remarks. She had nearly failed Bogg in Voyager Ethics class. Bobby often wondered if underneath her severe demeanor, Voyager Marian Brindle was a lonely woman who may have taken more than passing admiration for her good-looking student. The thought almost made him laugh. Stranger things have happened, and after all, they were only human on this forbidden planet Voyager.

Phineas Bogg was one of the most ethical young men he ever met, at least in most cases. Bobby was thirty-seven years old, and seven years prior he was the first person to meet and greet Phineas the pirate, get back to health, and give him the tour of the strange new world. They developed a good rapport, and Bobby became his mentor. Phineas loved him as an older brother.

Bobby was not about to give in to the Tribunal yet, but a vibration from his communicator alerted him that the Omni Control Center needed immediate attention.

He smiled crookedly. "I've said all I'm going to say for now, Councilors, but this decision is far from settled. G'day mates."

Bobby strode out of the courthouse purposefully and when he finally reached the doors to the OCC he leaned against the wall and gasped. Now his job was truly on the line. Bobby could sometimes kick himself for being a romantic at heart. He knew true love when he saw it. His poor friend was abruptly torn away from it the first time around with AnneMarie, and the second time he valiantly gave up his chance with Mabel Hubbard for the sake of history to be a green light. And there were many lost opportunities in between. If there were some way he could reunite Phineas and AnneMarie, he would take it, along with whatever consequences there were for his actions. Bobby was very loyal to his friends.

He scanned his hand over the airlock and the doors opened to reveal the OCC in a state of chaos. The Omnibus–Headquarters' key Omni tracking unit–was picking up unexpected red lights at a rapid pace. A warm hand clutched his arm. It was Tina Bradley, his pretty, doe-eyed assistant and girlfriend. He quickly kissed her cheek.

"What's going on here, love? I leave for ten minutes and the whole place is about to go up in flames!"

"Bobby it's getting bad. We're trying to trace the source of the interference now; Voyager Ross pegged the majority of red lights to be springing up between the 1840's and the Civil war, but in the last hour it's spread even further down the time-line."

"Oy! That could be any number of historical personages or events. What's that bloke's theory? He's always got a good one."

"Let's go talk to him. He's been waiting for you."

Voyager Tyrell Ross stretched back his lanky, six-foot-five frame and scratched his shaved head. His bespectacled, wide, dark eyes peered over a carefully constructed family tree. Voyagers Headquarters had full access to family records and documents. Their greatest innovative tool to date was the chronological GPS system. The 'CGP' allowed them to view much of the past as if watching a movie. It chronicled a person's life history and that of his ancestors in windows of 'real' time. Over eighty percent of past family lines were made whole as names and dates became available. It was a far different and advanced system than earth, where many legacies and lives were seemingly 'erased' from existence because of poor record keeping.

Bobby noted his anxiety and patted his shoulder. "What have you got for me, Tyrell? We haven't had this much excitement in years." Bobby was surprised when the Voyager removed his glasses and rubbed his teary eyes.

"Hey, mate, why the tears?"

"Bobby, she's gone. I mean she was never born!"

"Who man? Who?"

"My great ancestor, Harriet Tubman. Don't ask me how many greats she goes back."

Bobby inhaled sharply. "No, that can't be, Bogg and Jeff saved her in Missouri two years ago."

"All canceled out. I wouldn't be surprised if they even remember helping her."

"No, our field workers are protected by the time-flux, they'll remember their voyages even if everyone else forgets."

Tyrell sighed relieved. "Oh, that's right, the anomaly of memory. The scientists increased the levels of hyperdopaminergic action in the mesial temporal areas of the brain."

Bobby wagged his hands. "Please, Tyrell, me and Bio-chemistry don't mix."

"In other words, it's an induced state of déjà vu." Tina said. "The doctors have it all worked out for emergencies like this. Like you said, love, Phineas and Jeffrey will remember Harriet."

"Ah, understood." Bobby cocked an eyebrow at her and winked. He loved Tina's smarts.

Tyrell shook his head sadly. "I'm telling you, Bobby. I checked everything. I'm getting reports from Voyagers in every era! The Underground Railroad was disbanded, there are more slaves, lynchings, and Civil war battles than ever, and somehow, slavery is spreading to the Northern states! I re-checked the data for 1963, the march on Washington never occurred! It was more like a few brothers with grudges and picket signs."

"This is an enormous red!" Bobby exclaimed. "Why the heck wasn't I informed earlier?" He fumed.

Tina put a hand on his chest. "We wanted to be absolutely sure there wasn't any flukes to the system, Bobby. And we know that interrupting a Council meeting is like begging for banishment."

"Yeah Bobby, we want you to have confidence in us sometime. You can't do it all. But now this is just beyond us." Tyrell said miserably.

"Tyrell, what about her parents? Harriet Green and Ben Ross? Is the problem with them?" Tina asked.

"No, Tina, it goes back even further, earth has no records of Harriet's family line before Rit and Ben, but we do. Thank goodness for the alternate time-safe haven of Voyagers Headquarters, or I would be wiped out of existence!"

"Jeesh man! I can never wrap my head around that. Where did you trace the problem?" Bobby demanded.

Tyrell reset the coordinates and dates on the screen and the globe repositioned itself to the opposite end of the planet. He zoomed into the Atlantic Ocean, and the image of a giant slave ship materialized.

"It's a little imprecise right now, but we're talking pirates, Europe, and the early Slave trade. The two final names that come up are Laini and Jock."

**Laini-is a Swahili name from the region of Kenya. For future reference in this story, it is pronounced LAH-ee-nee. Very little is known of Harriet Tubman's ancestors, but she is of pure African descent. Her mother's line can be traced back to the Asanti tribe of the Gold Coast in West Africa. But for this story I am concerned with her father's line, which is unknown.**