"Are you aware of how to operate the device, Miss Andrews?"

"Yes, Mr. Vice-President. There is a control panel on the base of the device" I said, lying to buy some time. "It's on one of the legs. I can't remember specifics, but if I can get closer to the device, I should be able to open one of the panels."

"Excellent. Please show us how." The Vice-President patiently awaited my input on how to operate the device. I dreaded to think what anyone could use it for. But I had an idea to delay the inevitable.

I walked over to the Time Matrix. "I think it's on this leg", I said, pointing to one of the legs on the Time Matrix. As far as anyone new, that was the control interface. I approached the Time Matrix and bent over, and placed my left hand on the sphere, appearing to use it as a balance. While reaching towards the leg with my right hand, I concentrated on an image of Rachel's monument out in California. As quickly as I had thought about it, I was transported there.

The monument to Rachel was a beautiful, 25-foot tall statue made out of forged bronze. It was posed to show Rachel smiling, looking up towards the sky. At her right side was a claymore. Although she would have hated all the fuss, she would have enjoyed the depiction.

I began sobbing the moment I laid eyes upon the statue. I didn't have a team I could rely on anymore. I didn't have Jake to devise a plan. I didn't have Ax's technical knowledge. Even though they were all gone, I felt I could channel some of Rachel's courage.

The greatest weapon ever known has been discovered, I thought. I don't know how to hide or destroy it, or even if I can hide or destroy it. If I go back into the past, I could screw up the present. And I have just stolen from the US government out of Fort Knox, with the Vice-President as a witness. So I planned a way out. I can't go to the Andalites; they would only use the Time Matrix. But there should be other people who can help me, I thought, and maybe they can buy me some time.

And thus, I thought of one person who could help me out at a time like this. I had only met him once, to receive a medal after the war had ended. But he was the only person I could think of who could help me at a time like this. I brought up an image of the interior of 10 Downing Street, and ordered the Time Matrix to take me there.