Chapter IV: the end of an eventful day
Taylor led his new friend out of the clinic. Outside the market had come to life; everywhere people were emerging and buying supplies. Noah felt as though she could use a hundred extra eyes. The event of a market wasn't new but the people, the food and other objects were different. The understanding that each of these people came from another time… it was formidable. What was even more amazing was that each of these men and women seemed to know Taylor. Most men greeted him, the women smiled at him. Taylor offered Noah a funny looking fruit.
"What is that?!" Noah laughed.
Taylor grinned: "it's called a 'frut'; part nut, part fruit. Try it."
Noah accepted the thing and looked at it from all sides.
"How am I supposed to eat this?"
Taylor broke the frut in half and handed it back at her. Noah took a large bite: it tasted rather sour. Taylor laughed out loud as he saw Noah's face change and her eyes fill with tears.
"It takes some getting used to, I admit that." He said as soon as he could stop laughing.
"It's not that bad but rather… overwhelming." Noah replied still teary eyed.
Taylor led her around the market and offered explanations with every object that was New to Noah.
"Commander!"
A man with short greyish hair and the air of a conman approached Taylor.
"Boylan," Taylor replied "What can I do for you?"
"Oh, nothing special. You know, commander, I heard a rumor."
"I'm sure you did, Tom, I'm sure you did." Taylor replied dryly.
Boylan sniggered; "Someone told me that we had a new arrival. And not just anyone: they told me Noah Storms was in Terra Nova."
Noah was slightly surprised by the mentioning of her name; up until now most people had ignored her or only nodded at her.
Taylor looked a bit sour; he never really knew what to expect with Tom Boylan when the man started talking in that tone.
"She is indeed here, Tom. This is Noah Storms." He added indicating Noah.
"A pleasure to meet you." Boylan answered extending his arm.
Noah smiled and shook his hand.
"Boylan here is our local bar owner and go-to man if you want something done without my knowledge." Taylor said with a sly smile.
Boylan understood his cue and bid them both farewell.
"I hope to see you in my bar, miss Storms."
Noah was amused by the man but she could see that Taylor was rather irritated. To distract him Noah started asking questions on how Terra Nova was founded, within seconds Taylor had forgotten about Boylan and told Noah the story.
"Sixers? What are sixers?" Noah looked at Taylor with a puzzled face.
Taylor sighed; he hadn't intended to tell Noah about that but the name had slipped his tongue.
"They are traitors, traitors who want to see Terra Nova destroyed."
"So it's not all love and unity here?" Noah said with a sad smile.
Taylor shook his head: "It's a fight, every day. Not just with the jungle but also with people who would do to this world what they have done to the one we left behind."
He stared in the distance; they were sitting on the stairs leading to Taylor's office, looking out over the gate and the landscape beyond. For a moment they were both lost in thoughts.
"I suppose it would be boring if there was no adversity." Noah said after a while.
Taylor looked at her, surprised.
"We humans are not made for an easy life," Noah explained "we'd love to get it but I think that it we would get bored after a while. We are a kind that excels when the odds are against us: we don't learn or advance when everything is going good, we learn and move forward when everything is going wrong because it is the only way we can learn."
Taylor continued to look at her with even greater surprise. Noah smiled.
"Look at me: everyone I know told me that I was a fool. They said that I couldn't do it, that I would never be able to prove that time travel was possible or even existed. They laughed at me. But all their jokes and malice did was make me more determined to make it… and I did!"
Taylor smiled and nodded.
"I suppose that is the way we thrive: by giving death the finger and going on despite the storm." He agreed.
Noah laughed: "A slightly earthier phrasing but, yes, that is how we do it."
Taylor got up and pulled Noah to her feet as well.
"We better get going. I don't think Guz is going to be able to fight of Malcolm for much longer."
Noah looked puzzled.
"Your key!" Taylor added.
"Ah right. I'd forgotten for a moment."
They heard the voices when they were still several feet away from the science building. Taylor could clearly recognize Malcom's voice and Guz's short answers.
"I am the chief science officer and I have a right to take a look at this thing!" Malcom yelled just as Taylor held the door open to Noah.
"Commander said no, back off!" Guz replied with equal force.
Noah walked in on a slightly disturbing, yet amusing scene: Guz was standing in front of Malcolm with his back to the table on which Noah's things were lying. He was face to face with Malcolm who's red face made him look like someone had tried to boil him.
"Guz! Malcolm!" Taylor roared. "Keep it down, they can hear you all the way to the other side of Terra Nova."
Both men looked rather surprised.
"Commander."
"It's alright, Guz. Go take a break."
Noah nodded at Guz as he passed her and then walked over to the table, ignoring Malcolm.
"Commander, I only…"
"Miss Storms said not to touch anything."
"But…"
"No 'buts', Malcolm, unless she says so you don't touch that thing, got it?"
Noah looked up: she could clearly see Malcolm's disappointment. Even though she didn't really like the guy, she was a fellow scientist, so she could understand how he felt about this.
"Alright, I'll explain how it works if you like." Noah sighed.
Malcolm immediately looked as if Christmas had come early and excitedly walked over to the table. Noah unpacked the solar cells and showed them to him.
"These are solar cells, I use them to recharge the key."
Malcolm took one in his hands and examined it closely, his face lit up as a light bulb. Noah rolled her eyes at Taylor who tried to hide his smile while he watched the two scientists.
"A normal recharger for solar energy, it's not a model I know though." Malcolm muttered.
"Uh no, that would be normal; I modified them."
Noah continued to explain her key to him. Malcolm's amazement grew every minute.
"But… But this is completely new technology. I don't think anyone has ever thought of doing it this way. We didn't use the same techniques to travel, you know."
Noah smiled, Taylor had already tried to explain how they had done it and Noah had been surprised about what he had told her. She continued to check her equipment, with Malcolm watching her every move.
"Damn!" Noah was unpleasantly surprised when she checked the battery inside the key.
"What is it?" Taylor and Malcolm said at the same moment.
"The battery, it's only at 15% capacity. That means I have to recharge it and that will cost days."
"How long?"
"2, maybe 3 days. It depends on the amount of sunshine you get around here." Noah answered.
"Well, we'll just have to set up your equipment somewhere safe." Malcolm replied.
Taylor nodded: "Perhaps on the roof of the science building? No one will get to it there and I will have a man guard it day and night."
"Is that necessary?" Noah wondered.
Taylor nodded and walked outside. Minutes later Noah, Taylor, Malcolm and unknown soldier were standing on the roof of the building. All 3 men watched as Noah set up her equipment.
"That should do it." Noah said as she got up. "I'll have to check it once in a while but whit this kind of sun I think it will recharge in 2 days."
She followed the men down the ladder , leaving the soldier on the roof.
That evening Noah was sitting at the dinner table with the Shannon family and Taylor, who had been invited by a still grinning Jim. Maddy, who had completely recovered from her little adventure, talked nonstop to Noah, asking her about the world in 2017, her work and telling things about life in Terra Nova. Josh and Zoë had long given up on trying to say anything and Josh amused his little sister by juggling with the forks. The grown-ups followed Maddy's ranting with joyful amusement.
"How about I show you the rest of Terra Nova tomorrow?" Taylor said, seizing the opportunity when Maddy stopped talking to take a bite.
"I'd love that!" Noah said delighted.
Jim exchanged a look of understanding with his wife.
Later that evening Josh moved his sheets to the couch, mumbling as he went, leaving a guilty feeling Noah in his room with an amused Elizabeth.
"Oh, don't worry about that!" Elizabeth said when she saw Noah's face. "He only does that for show."
Noah smiled.
Miles away from Terra Nova, in a tree house that was at least 9 feet of the ground, Leech was sitting in front of the black woman and the two men he had met earlier. He had tried to convince them to look for Angus but they had told him the bloody idiot got eaten by a dinosaur.
"So you're telling us that the woman who was with you has the technology to travel through time?" Mira asked.
"Yes, I didn't want to believe the little bitch at first but she paid us well so we went along with it. Little did we know miss Storms actually had that technology."
"Did you say Storms?"
Leech looked at the man who had introduced himself as 'Lucas'; his eyes seemed to be filled with a mad spark.
"Yes, her name is Noah Storms."
Lucas jumped up. "She's real! She did it! Haha, she did it! And no one knew!"
The others looked at him with fearful anticipation.
Lucas turned towards them: "Noah Storms was the first scientist to write down the principles on time travel, everyone thought she was a nut case. Our way of time travelling, however, is based on her principles. Hell, even the name of the colony is based on what she wrote: she's the first one to name 'Terra Nova'."
"Can she get us back home?" Mira demanded.
Lucas looked directly at her.
"Yes." The sense of triumph was clearly audible in his voice, but so was his madness. "Her technology will get us home and give us a new chance to complete our job!"
"How are we going to do that?"
Lucas thought for a moment: "We'll lay a trap, at the place where they arrived. That's most likely to be the place where she'll return to when she'll want to return to her own time."
"You'll need her." Leech said.
Lucas looked down on him, he hated it when someone interrupted him.
"Why?"
"The control panel, it can only be activated by her touch, something to do with heath signature or something."
"Then, we'll have to take her as well. Finally we'll have a shot at making our dear commander pay for what he has done!"
Lucas laughed making the others shiver: none of them liked Lucas, or his madness, but neither could they deny they needed him. The prospect of returning home and getting revenge on Terra Nova however was a prospect that illuminated the dark night for them.