And finally, the next part. Sorry it took so long, but of course I was ready to post when the site first went off-line. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
Through the bucking and jolting of the shuttle, Liam was finally able to regain some semblance of control. Quickly bringing them out of ID space, the first thing he noticed was the large mass of trees rushing up at them. He was able to gain enough control to avoid a crash, but the landing wasn't entirely flawless; the shuttle raked a short path through the dense underbrush, heads and limbs did a number on the seats, and Liam was sure the shuttle would need repairs.
As Liam stood up he gingerly touched his right side and winced from pain. He'd been thrown against the front of the pilot's seat, catching his lower ribs on the rounded bar; luckily there didn't seem to be any serious damage, at least nothing that wouldn't heal given time. "Everyone okay?" he asked, surveying his passengers.
The two Taelons responded, saying they were fine, while his two human passengers merely nodded. Satisfied, although concerned about a small gash above Renee's left eyebrow, Liam set to work on damage assessment. He sighed in relief as he brought up the shuttle's main screen, grateful the main controls seemed to be working. But that, however, did not necessarily mean all systems were functioning.
Despite their claims, Sandoval went to check both Da'an and Zo'or before aiding Liam with the assessment of their situation. As he turned around he caught a glance out the virtual glass windshield, only to sub-consciously look back out. Something wasn't right. Not moving his gaze, he addressed Liam. "Major, where are we?"
Liam quickly brought up the GPS grid, not really paying much attention. "Uh…just outside of…Toronto," he replied distractedly.
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
Sandoval's frown deepened into a look of concern. "And what time did we enter ID space?" His inquiries had caught the attention of the other three passengers, who came over to listen to the conversation.
The other man sighed. Liam was trying to assess their situation, and Sandoval's seemingly pointless questions were making that difficult. Nevertheless, he brought up the data log. "Approximately 18:30, Singapore time."
"You're sure?"
"That's what I said."
"And you're absolutely certain of our current location?"
Liam hung his head. "Yes!" he replied, annoyed. "Why?" he demanded, bringing his head up to glare at Sandoval. The annoyance quickly left his face when he saw what Sandoval, and by now the others, were staring at. Slowly, Liam turned off the virtual glass shield and stood up from the pilot's seat, walking out of the shuttle while the others remained inside.
They were staring at the sun, or rather, the sun's position in the sky. It was fairly low in the horizon, but it wasn't rising…it was setting. Given the fact that their current location was twelve hours behind Singapore, who's sun had only begun to set, and the fact that their travel time only took a few minutes, it was safe to say all five were at a loss for words.
Liam broke his trance first and quickly headed back inside the shuttle, bringing up the VG shield and controls, beginning a data search. The others stood on either side of him, watching intently.
He sighed after a few minutes. "Something's wrong. The only satellite linkup I can get is with the GPS Sat., and I can't raise the Mothership or the embassies. Any of them."
"I shall attempt the Mothership's emergency frequency," Zo'or replied, more of an order. Liam nodded, giving up his seat to the Taelon. After several minutes it was apparent Zo'or wasn't having any luck. "The transmission is not being received. It is as if the Mothership does not exist." With that, the Taelon stood up, the jerky movements of his hands betraying his frustration and concern.
Da'an spoke up at that moment, slightly reluctant. "Major, when the malfunction in your shuttle caused you to jump to another dimension, you experienced communication and sensor block-outs, did you not?" By his demeanor it was obvious this implication caused Da'an concern.
Liam had originally thought of that possibility, but it just didn't sit right. He knew it was a poor excuse - explaining why he didn't mention it in the first place - but Liam was positive they hadn't crossed dimensions. He didn't know how he knew, but he did…however, he did need an acceptable excuse to lead the others off that trail. "Yes, but the fact that we obtained a GPS up-link kinda shoots that theory…." He trailed off as another idea came to him. "But…." He sat down again and pulled up a data file. "The sensors show that just as we entered inter-dimensional, right before they stopped working, the blast from that energy weapon distorted the wormhole, causing a tear in space-time."
"A temporal distortion?" Zo'or asked, frightened, yet at the same time awed. Liam nodded.
Sandoval raised an eyebrow, disbelieving. "You're saying we traveled in time?" He knew it was possible…at least for future generations, but he still wasn't sure.
Liam looked at him. "Yes, that's what I'm saying. Most likely, we traveled back in time, instead of forward."
Sandoval frowned. "Why do you say that?"
Renee, who had been fairly quiet during the discussion, finally spoke up, catching on to Liam's train of thought. "That would explain the sensor and communications problems." She looked at Liam, who nodded at her, indicating she was correct. "If we travelled back before the Taelons arrived, most of the shuttle's systems wouldn't have anything sophisticated enough to link up with."
Zo'or and Da'an, while agreeing with what she was saying, were hoping Renee was wrong. The thought of being alone without their fellow Taelons was…well, disturbing, to say the least. In the wake of the confusing crash, the two aliens had been too preoccupied to notice, but now that the thought prevailed, they both sense…nothing. They, and they alone, permeated the Commonality…they both tried as hard as they could and could only feel a vague essence stretching over a great distance…there was no Taelon within the galaxy…or the neighboring ones, either. "We are alone…" Da'an gasped, only loud enough for Zo'or, who mirrored Da'an's surprising fear, to hear.
"However," Renee continued. "In the case of the GPS up-link, the GPS satellite is one of the only original satellites we continued using after your arrival," she gestured to the two aliens.
Liam sighed, looking around at everyone in turn. "Time travel, while seemingly far-fetched, does appear to be the most likely cause of our systems' blackout." The Taelons inclined their heads in agreement while Renee, and even Sandoval nodded.
"However, the question remains," Da'an raised one hand, spreading his fingers. All heads turned to him. "How far in time have we traveled?"
They lapsed into silence. Liam, deciding to take charge of the situation, spoke first. "Let's find out," he suggested, dropping the virtual glass shield and pushing away from the pilot's seat, grabbing a small, extra firearm. As he stepped out of the shuttle, followed by the others, he continued, "On our way down, I noticed a few houses near the edge of this forest. It didn't seem too far." Taking a few seconds to cloak the shuttle and get his bearings, Liam led them in a westerly direction.
o0o
Liam guessed it was taking them double the time because the humans constantly had to help the Taelons manoeuver through the dense foliage. They eventually made their way down to the bottom of a shallow ravine and followed the small streambed that cut it's way through. However, despite being relatively clear of debris, it was still slow going.
About forty minutes later they came to an area where the slope of the ravine at the top met what appeared, from their vantage point, to be a road. The five of them were in the midst of discussing whether to continue on through the foliage or take the risk of walking on the road when the faint sounds of footsteps scraping across pavement could be heard above.
Sandoval, not taking his eyes off the road, whispered, "Major Kincaid and I will check it out. Ms. Palmer, stay here with Da'an and Zo'or." With that, he started up the slope.
Liam walked back to Renee, wanting to reassure her. She wasn't showing any signs of fear, but he thought he could see a hint of something akin to concern or apprehension in her eyes. "Here," he said, handing her the extra firearm. As she silently took the gun their hands met, and Liam discreetly rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand in reassurance. She gave him a small smile.
Breaking contact, Liam turned around and jogged to catch up with Sandoval, already halfway up the slope.