In this chapter Ann acted on her decision, Ibsen vanished and Kirk learned some truths. As always: Feedback is very welcome. Please read and enjoy!
Ann MacGregor got a sick feeling in her stomach as even after several hours of waiting the view screen still was inactive. In all her calculations she never had considered that the two men would stay in the time stream. After a lengthy discussion with Raymond Swain and Jerry the three of them came up with a new solution. It had never worked before, but Ray and Kirk agreed with the plan. They would try to find the radiation signature in the time stream and then initiate, without seeing them, a transfer back into their own time. It took some time until the settings were reconfigured and the energy level fully charged. Ann hasn't much to do while the technicians carried out the instructions of the scientists. She got herself a cup of coffee and sat down at one of the input keyboards. Once again she calculated the coordinates from Dougs folder. Suddenly she had again this uneasy feeling that accompanied her now for days. As she looked up she saw Derek Ibsen standing at the control desk. Somehow she found the sight disturbing. She stood abruptly and walked over to the mysterious man.
"What are you doing here?"
"Dr. MacGregor, the always suspicious Lady."
"Mr. Ibsen."
"Senator, please. I've just got the promotion by phone."
Ann tried not to roll her eyes.
"Senator Ibsen, please spare me your derision and answer my question. Honestly if this is possible."
The dark-haired politician looked around cautiously.
"As you know, I'm a scientist myself. I'm merely curious."
He lowered his voice.
"Are you ready? All things necessary packed?"
Dr. MacGregor was startled.
"I am. What do you know we do not know?"
Ibsen took the brunette woman by her shoulder and let her aside to the entrance of the tunnel.
"If I told you what I know, it would be contra productive. But now I have a question. Are you really and absolutely resolved to go into another time. Do you know what could happen to you?"
"I know it. I could get lost, I could die, I could go into a wrong time, maybe I can never go back. But I have to go. I have to find Doug and Tony. And I will. I've programed the coordinates I've found in Doug's folder, regardless what you have told me. I will them transfer into the future."
"You're sure you will find them in the vast area of numerous time lines?"
With more mistrust than ever before Ann looked at the Senator.
"Who are you really? A time traveler? A messenger of some kind? An Alien? I'm not able to figure you out."
"What do you consider the most likely?"
Ann gave him a humorless laugh.
"You told me, you wanted to help me, but if I'm honest, I don't believe one word."
"I knew what you would find in Phillips desk!"
"Maybe you where there before me and found it out!"
Ibsen shook his head and for a moment his eyes seemed to change the color. Ann felt a cold shiver down the spine. But she scolded herself for her imagination.
Before she could say anything, the View Screen snapped into the retaining clips. Ann turned on her heels but Ibsen held her firmly by the right elbow.
"I know it isn't easy for you, but trust me!"
Dr. MacGregor freed herself from his grip and went to her control desk. With a twist of her head she turned to Dr. Swain.
"Can we transfer them?"
"I don't know. The signature is weak."
Ann changed a control setting, but the reading was lost again.
"Maybe, if we gave the whole energy of the detection Control and if we have a focus on them we make the transition to the return mode, it would work."
Swain pointed to the view screen which was offline again.
"It seems, we have to wait."
Ann nodded and laid a hand on Swains arm.
"Ray, I fear we are running out of time."
Reaching in her lab coat pocket she took the paper with the coordinates and gave them to her colleague.
"I found these in Dougs folder in his quarters. I will program the return mechanism with this coordinates. If we can locate them and have a clear reading we transfer them thither and then I will follow them."
Swain shook his head.
"I know I promised to help you. But I have a very uneasy feeling about this."
Ann was looking around, then whispered:
"Ray, you and Jerry and maybe Kirk, if he is willing, could follow. This coordinates are ten years in the future."
"And Ibsen?"
"What's with him?"
"Ann, he told me, that you can't go to the future yet nor Doug and Tony."
"Regardless I will program our system with these coordinates, okay?"
Dr. Swain took hold of Ann's right hand.
"We will do what we have ever done. Try to bring them back."
"But we never accomplished it. Ray, don't close your eyes to reality. As it stands now we must act quickly. Let me do the programming now!"
Jerry Briggs silently approached them.
"I will help you, Dr. MacGregor."
"Thank you, Jerry. I'm finished for the moment. Would you please take my position for some time, Jerry?"
"Of course, Doctor."
Ann wandered restless through the halls of the tunnel complex without knowing where she went. Her thoughts were doing circles. Did she make the right decision.? Would be there no other possibility? Would she really meet with Newman and Phillips? Perhaps she should stay in the relative safety of the tunnel. But no! Even if she didn't trust Ibsen, he seems to know that she had to go into the time vortex. And the government seemed to be determined to end Project Tic Toc. Then she would certainly never see Doug again. During the entire time after Doug has followed Tony she had pulled herself together, had remained quiet even if it was hard for her. But there was always the hope to bring the two men back. Now she had to give up hope and do what she thought was best for her. Ann had no illusions, it wouldn't be easy. Last night she had dreamt again, the same dream she had a few nights ago. But in this dream there were a woman standing in the middle of the forest who hold her back from running after her friends and another woman who was leading Doug away from her. She knew it was her own fear that inspired that dream, but she had to overcome her worries and be brave.
Only Jerry and Jiggs were in the main control center as Kirk came by.
"Hello Jerry. Where is Dr. MacGregor?"
Nervously Jerry stood up.
"She...I think she is in her Quarters, Sir!"
"Then call her and Dr. Swain.!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Kirk asked the three scientists in his office.
"I got a call from Clarke and another one from the homeland security. We must bring Newman and Phillips back as fast as we can."
Swain and Dr. MacGregor exchanged a glance, before the older scientist asked:
"Why now, Sir?"
Kirk looked around cautiously.
"After my telephone call with the people at NASA, they were searching for signs of an Alien-Invasion and Clark told me, they have found something which could be a proof for it. I don't know what they have found, but..." Kirk hesitated.
"The troops are on their way, so to speak. The will evacuate the complex and take us with them. You're were right, Ann. I'm sorry I didn't believe you!"
Ann was looking through the office window and saw Ibsen standing at the big processors.
"It is okay, Sir. Does Ibsen know?"
Swain looked at Kirk who was shaking his head.
"No, they warned me about him, but Clark said he have his confidence."
Ann was at the door.
"We cannot waste time. Ray, I have something important to do, please try to locate Doug and Tony, I will be back in a couple of minutes. And Ray, whether they are in the Vortex or just materialize somewhere, transfer them at the first opportunity, please."
Running Ann has reached her quarters in no time and changed her clothes, took her backpack and looked around for maybe the last time ever. Her eyes fell on a framed photo of Doug. She took the photo from the frame and held it in her hand.
"Oh Doug, if only you would be here. You would know what to do. You would tell me what I should do. Is this, what I'm about to do the right thing?"
Quickly she put the photo in the backpack and leaved the room without a backward glance.
When Dr. MacGregor joined her colleagues a short time later, they were staring at the view screen and Jiggs kept Derek Ibsen with his gun at bay while Kirk yelled at him:
"What have you done? Are you out of your senses? Why have you manipulated the programed data?"
Ann rushed to her control desk and checked the entered coordinates.
"These are not Doug's coordinates. Where did you send them?"
A look at the big screen showed them that Doug and Tony weren't in the future at all.
The way it looked they were in the middle of a medieval army train.
Ibsen didn't bat an eye.
"Don't forget to go after them, Dr. MacGregor, this is your mission and I told you, you weren't going into the future."
Only now Kirk, Swain and Jerry noticed that Ann had changed her apparel. She wore blue Jeans and a warm coat, over her shoulder she had her backpack which she now dropped to the ground. With two steps she was at her control desk and stabilized the reading.
Kirk took her by her elbow:
"Ann, what …?
Shaking her head Ann took the backpack.
"Ray, Jerry, try to hold the position while you transfer me."
"No, Ann, I forbid it, You can't go into the Vortex." Kirk thwarted the woman.
"General, I must do it."
A commotion behind them stopped the discussion. Ibsen had disarmed Jiggs and pointed the gun at Kirk.
"Let her go."
Kirk snorted:
"And if not?"
"Then I have to stop you."
Dr. Swain had risen and put a hand on Kirks shoulder.
"I don't like this idea either, but let her go. We will take care of her and Tony and Doug."
Ann took a deep breath.
"We will see each other again, I'm sure. Are we ready?"
Ray nodded and Dr. MacGregor gave each of her friends a hug and a peck on the cheek. Jerry wanted to say something but changed his mind, hugged her back and said.
"We have a steady reading, you can go, Dr. MacGregor. Good Luck!"
Her heart pounded wild in her chest. With a last glance backwards to her friends Ann took the first step into the tunnel loops. She was terrified but on and on she went into the fog and the sparks which were surrounding her. The way seemed to be endless but suddenly she felt like fainting and in the other moment she experienced for the first time in her life the swirling, hypnotizing colors of the time vortex. For some moments she felt dizzy but then she saw not only colors but pictures of times past, present and future. After Doug and Tony were gone she always wanted to know how it felt to be in this stream of time. Her fear was almost forgotten, she felt lightheaded and weightless and strong, stronger than ever before. But all to soon she felt the gravity pulling at her. She cried as she made contact with the underground on which she landed. The next things she felt were rain and wind. She tried to get up but everything around her went black as she felt unconscious to the mossy green surface.
The remaining people in Tic Toc main base were staring at the view screen on which the images changed between Doug and Tony, bound by a group of odd looking men, and Ann apparently lifeless in the middle of a clearing.
However there was no time to analyze the situation. Unbeknownst to the time tunnel personnel which was captured by the images on the view screen, the large control room was filled with armed government troops. Kirk looked shocked at the commanding officer.
"What's the meaning of this?" he wanted to know.
"General Kirk, with immediate effect the Department of Homeland Security takes command. You and all Scientist, who are working here are under Arrest. We will evacuate the whole complex, but at first, we will shut down the tunnel."
Jerry and Ray tried to mediate but to no avail.
Kirk was looking around.
"Where is Ibsen?"
"I would also like to know that."
Leroy Clarke came out of the lift and went to Kirk and Swain.
"Calm down, Woody, we will try to clarify the situation as fast as possible.
"But, what will happen to Doug, Tony and Ann? They are lost without us."
A soldier came by and gave Clark a report.
"Ibsen is nowhere to be found. But he can't be gone from the complex. None of the vehicles is missing."
Clark turned to Kirk.
"When have you seen Ibsen last?"
Kirk shrugged his shoulders.
"I was too busy to pay attention to him, but I think I saw him last as Dr. MacGregor was going into the loops."
Clark nodded.
"Woody, don't worry. We have to close the complex but I'm sure after a very thorough debriefing you will have the opportunity to go back here and to launch a last attempt to get the three of them back."
"A last attempt? Out there in the vast area of time are three people, no three friends, maybe in danger. I am responsible for their well being! How can you tell me, I have one last attempt to get them back? Only because the government has a new toy in form of the space program."
Clark hesitated for some seconds.
"Woody. you're wrong if you think this is the reason. This was decided long before. I have done what ever was in my power to prolong project Tic Toc, believe me."
"What does this mean?"
"Regardless what they will tell you later, Woody, I'm your friend and I will tell the truth, but not here."
Both men went into Kirk's office and the General poured them a generous shot of whiskey.
Clark took a sip.
"You remember, when the government gave the OK for Tic Toc?"
After Kirk nodded, the Senator continued:
"Your project was not intended to be complete from the beginning whether it would be a success or not. If you had accomplished to send people in time and bring them back safely, they would have used it as weapon, to change the past to their liking. And if it would have been a failure they would have it cut off anyway. But then came a warning that Tic Toc could be the reason that aliens might be aware of earth. That was some month ago. By this time Ibsen has joined the homeland security and was about to become a Senator. He was determined to close the Tunnel complex completely and because I was against this, they forced me into retirement. But now it seems that Ibsen is either an alien or a time traveler himself who has created a paradox and need the help of your people to undo it."
"Tic Toc as a weapon? Doomed from the beginning? Good that Phillips doesn't hear this. The government used us all as a kind of guinea pig."
Clark laid a hand on Kirk's shoulder.
"We will do what ever we can to bring back Phillips Newman and Ann MacGregor. But now it is time to go!"
TBC...