Time Force Headquarters

New Silver Hills, California 2999 AD

She sat there patiently, trying to control the knots in her stomach that had been twisting away at her patience. It had been nearly an hour since Commander Collins asked her to join him in the observation lounge. She'd done everything she could to pass the time; count the tiles on the floor (and the ceiling), watching the blinking lights in the digital clock above the door blink a little over 3,600 times, even memorized every caption under the pictures of former Time Force officers that hung in the room.

She'd run out of things to do…

'If there's something wrong, I wish he'd just come out and tell me,' she thought to herself, but couldn't think of anything that she could have done wrong. She graduated top of her class with honors, received commendations of valor and her keen observational skills, even made it to the dean's list three years running. She'd proven herself capable of being a Time Force officer, but apparently, Commander Collins didn't think so.

She recalled times during her training sessions that Commander Collins would peek in and simply watch her, almost as if he was waiting for something to go wrong. It was as if he wanted her to fail. 'But why? I did everything that was required of me and more,' she thought to herself.

Finally, she dismissed the thought of her doing something wrong. 'Maybe he wants to talk to me about something more… personal,' she thought. She quickly dismissed that thought as well. One of her classmates mentioned to her that maybe, just maybe, Commander Collins had a crush on her, but it seemed so hard to believe. 'Alex… I mean, Commander Collins would never get involved with someone under his command,' she thought.

After what seemed like hours of waiting, the door opened and Commander Collins walked into the room. As always, he wore his white Time Force uniform and a pair of deeply tinted sunglasses.

"Cadet," he said.

She quickly rose to her feet, saluting her superior officer. "Reporting as ordered, sir," she said proudly.

"At ease," she put her arms at her side. "My apologies for keeping you waiting, I had a meeting that ran a little long," he told her.

"I understand sir."

"I asked you to come here because I've watched you through out your tenure here at the academy. I've been impressed with your test scores," he said.

"Thank you sir."

He sat down in a chair across from her, motioning for her to sit as well. She took a deep breath, sitting down across from him. "You graduated top of your class, and because of that, Time Force feels as though you may be ready for a command unit of your own," he mentioned.

"Really? Thank you sir," she said, trying to contain her excitement.

"In my personal opinion, you're not," the pleasant smirk on her face was replaced by a look of disappointment. "You've memorized every technical manual we've thrown at you, aced every test, and could probably quote protocols to me in order, but it takes more than facts and figures to lead a unit," he explained.

"I'm sure that if you gave me…" she was cut short.

"I'm not here to give you anything cadet. Luckily for you, the counsel overruled my decision and has decided to send you on your first mission. If you're successful and you complete your mission, you will be assigned your own command unit," he said.

"What must I do?" she inquired.

"How well do you know your history Jennifer?" he asked.

It struck her as odd… it was the first time he hadn't called her cadet since she met him. It was enough to make her crack a smile.

"I'm fairly familiar with the history banks," she said.

"Your mission will be to travel to the 21st century; more specifically, the year 1980. Reports have come in of rogue mutants escaping to the past and are planning an assassination," he told her.

"Assassination? Who?"

"Someone who will be instrumental in the development of Time Force. Her name is Cynthia Anderson. She is with child and is expected to give birth very soon: your mission is to ensure that her child is born by any means necessary," he said.

"I understand."

"I can't stress enough how important it is that you do not interfere with the natural course of the time line. It is imperative that you limit your interaction with the people of that time period. If you don't, history; future history, could be changed forever," he explained.

"When do I leave?" she asked, ready to accept her new assignment.

"0900 tomorrow morning. Get a good night sleep Jennifer, you'll need it," he told her.

Silver Hills, California 1980 AD

"Cindi? Are you here?" Albert called out as he stepped through the front door, setting his coat down across the couch.

It set his briefcase down next to the end table near the couch and called for her again, but still no response.

He glanced in the kitchen, but she wasn't there, and then headed to the bathroom. Nothing. Finally, he headed to their bedroom, but there still wasn't a trace of her. Concern started to set in and he picked up the pace, calling for her again.

"Cynthia?" he called out.

Nothing.

He rushed into the nursery, where he found her fast asleep on the floor next to the baby's crib. He left out a sigh of relief, pleased that everything was okay. When she originally told him she was pregnant, he spared no expense of preparing a nursery for their child. It had everything a child could possibility need, including a baby monitor and a video camera installed in the ceiling overhead. Cynthia told him he was being overprotective already, but he insisted that he was simply being prepared.

Albert leaned over her, kissing her warmly on the forehead. "Wake up beautiful," he whispered.

She opened her eyes slowly, staring upwards at him. "Traditionally, the handsome prince is suppose to kiss the sleeping maiden on the lips to wake her," she pointed out as she slowly rose to her feet.

He placed his hand on her stomach gently, hoping to feel the baby kick, but no such luck. He leaned in, kissing her warmly on the lips. "Is that better?" he inquired.

"Much. And to think I didn't even have to eat a poison apple," she laughed. "How was work?"

"It was good. I think we're close to signing a deal with the Bio-Tech people. If this merger goes through, our money problems will be solved," he told her.

"But I thought that Collin Laboratories was doing just fine. We don't really need this merger, do we?" she asked.

"Our lab is on a much smaller scale, but we're able to mass produce a much better product that Bio-Tech. They know that, but at the same time, they reach out to almost every country in the world, while we're limited to the smaller cities like Angel Grove, Turtle Cove and Sunnydale. This merger will give us access to the entire world, allowing up to open new labs across the country. Think of it Cindi: one day, our son will inherit a business that saves the lives of countless billions," he explained.

She always admired that about him; his ability to see a vision and work towards it. She recalled when his father passed away and left him Collin Laboratories; how he turned a small lab into over 3 labs across the city, tripling their profits and providing jobs for people in the city. At first, he was against the idea of running a business, but like his father before him, he had a vision of being able to leave something behind for his son. There was only one problem…

"What if it's a daughter?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You said that our son would inherit your business. What if it's a daughter?" she repeated.

"We if have a girl, she can inherit the business too. My sisters all have stock in the lab, but none of them seem to be interested in its development. If our daughter wants to take on an active role in the company, I'd be all for it," he told her.

"That's good to…" she paused, putting her hand on her stomach, then let out a howl of pain.

"What is it Cindi?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Come on, lets get you to the hospital," he insisted, picking her up and rushing out the front door.

Jen opened her eyes slowly, glancing around the room to get an idea on where she was, but her vision was blurred. She tried to sit up, but the back of her head was throbbing. Doing her best to suppress the pain, she sat up, but was stopped by a doctor.

"Relax ma'am, you have a mild concussion," he told her.

"What… happened?" she inquired, still trying to piece together how she arrived there.

"You were brought here by a fisherman, who said he found you floating in the river just outside of town. There were signs of an explosion, which does explain your concussion," he explained.

She recalled there being some problems with the time ship, and being forced the crash land in the water to avoid being killed with an attempt to crash on land. After that… everything was a blur.

"How long have I been here?" she asked.

"About two days. You didn't have any ID on you when you were brought in, is there any immediate family we should contact and inform of your condition?" he inquired.

"No, no one."

"What's your name ma'am?" he asked.

"Jen…." She paused. "Jenetta. Jenetta Mitchell," she told him.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Jenetta Mitchell. I'm Dr. Wright," he introduced. "We're going to run a few more tests on you, and if all goes well, we'll be able to release you in a few days," he said.

"Days? I don't have that much time, I've got to…" she tried to climb out of bed, but collapsed to the floor.

"What you have to do is rest, the last thing you need to do is aggravate your condition. Where ever you have to go or whatever you have to do, it'll just have to wait," he informed her.

Jen lay back down on her bed and closed her eyes, knowing that every minute she spent in that hospital brought the future closer to it's end.

Days later

'I can't stress enough how important it is that you do not interfere with the natural course of the time line. It is imperative that you limit your interaction with the people of that time period. If you don't, history; future history, could be changed forever,'

Those words had haunted her for days now. It was the sole reason she'd lied to the doctors about her name, to conceal the truth from them. It wasn't as if she could have explained her mission to them and they'd release her. To tell them would not only contaminate the time line, but they'd throw her in an asylum. That's why she always thought back to what Alex… Wait, Commander Collins told her. She remembered his words like they were yesterday. 'Yesterday,' she chuckled inwardly, considering that yesterday she was 1000 years in the future.

Her head still ached, but she knew that her mission was of the utmost importance. Whoever this Cynthia Anderson woman was, she and her child were vital to the survival of the future. The fate of the entire future had been thrown on her shoulders, and she was beginning to think it was more than she could handle. 'At least if my mission fails, there won't be anyone left to get on my case about it,' she thought.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the doctor walked into the room with a clipboard in his hand. "Good morning," he said cheerfully, smiling warmly.

"Morning," she sighed.

"How are you feeling today?" he inquired.

"Actually, I'm feeling much better today. I think I'll be able to…" she tried to sit up, but the pain in her head forced her to lay back down.

"Don't rush it Jenetta, you'll be able in another few days," he paused. "Do you remember anything about the crash?"

She shook her head. "No," she lied.

Actually, she remembered it all. There was a problem with one of the landing procedures in the time ship, and as a result, she had to crash land. Instead of hitting the ground, she aimed for water, hoping it would soften the blow. On impact, there was a hull breach, and water began to flood into the ship. She ejected from the ship, letting it sink the bottom of the river.

"Partial amnesia is common with a concussion. Don't worry, it'll all come back to you in a few days," he assured her.

"Thank you."

"In the meantime, I thought you might be able to use some company," he mentioned.

"What do you mean?"

Just then, two nurses wheeled in a woman in a wheel chair, helping her up into the bed next to hers. "Jenetta, this is another one of my patients. Her condition isn't as serious as yours, but her husband insisted that she remain in the hospital until she has her baby," he told her.

Jen glanced over at the woman as the two nurses walked out the room. She couldn't help but admire her. There was something about her, a certain glow, a glow that seemed to light up the room. She was a beautiful woman with long, dark brown hair.

"Hello," the woman said cheerfully, trying to disguise the fact that she was in pain.

"Hello," Jen said.

"I'll leave the two of you alone, but don't talk long. You both need your rest," the doctor said, walking out the room.

"I'm Jen," she introduced.

"I'm Cynthia, but only my mother calls me that. My friends call me Cindi," the woman told her.

"Cindi it is," she sighed, but then it hit her like a ton of bricks… "Cynthia Anderson?" she inquired.

"Yes, how did you know my…" she paused. "Oh, you must have seen my husband and I on television the other night talking about the merger," she said.

"Yes, that's what it was," Jen lied. Again, it wasn't as if she could tell her she was from the future sent to protect her unborn child.

"I keep telling Albert that we don't have to make this merger so public, but he likes the press. He says it's good for business," she said.

"Sounds like you don't think so."

She shook her head. "It's not that, it's just that there are rival companies who are against the merger. Albert says it doesn't bother him, but we get disturbing calls to the house sometimes and…" she paused. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to bore you with all my problems," she said.

It started to make sense to her. Albert was so involved with his company that he didn't realize that a rival company would be willing to do anything to stop the merger; even if it meant killing his wife and child.

"No, it's okay. It's not like I have anything else to do in here," Jen pointed out.

"What are you in for?" Cindi asked.

"I have a concussion, there was an accident near the river. That's all I really remember about it," she said.

"I'm sorry."

"Doc says I'll be okay in a few days though," she said.

"Well, if you're feeling up to it, you can always come by my place and have dinner. If Albert doesn't cook, it's usually pretty good," she told her.

They both giggled.

"I'd like that, thank you," Jen sighed.

At that moment, someone stormed into the hospital room with a sword in hand. It happened rather quickly, but Jen was able to get a good look at him. At first glance, it was a green colored mutant with four arms. It had long, linky fingers with sharp nails on the end of each one, and fangs that looked as if they could bite through solid steel. Its eyes had an eerie yellow glow to them, and gray hair that covered over half of its body. The mutant swung, but Cindi was able to roll off the bed just in time, hitting the floor. Despite the pain, Jen leaped out her bed with a spin kick, knocking the would-be assassin to the floor.

"Stay down," Jen told her, picking up a blanket and laying it over Cindi to protect her.

The mutant lunged at Jen, but she managed to move to the side to avoid the sword, and then kicked it in the face, knocking him backwards. Jen knocked the sword out the assassin's hand, did a back flip and caught the sword in mid air, then sliced one of the mutant's arm. It's forearm fell to the ground, but within seconds, another arm grew in its place, and then rushed at Jen again. Running out of ideas, Jen headed over to the window in the room, taunting the creature.

"Come and get me," she screamed.

The mutant rushed towards her again, but Jen side stepped him and sliced him across the waist. The mutant smashed through the window, falling several floors down and landing on the concrete below. Jen couldn't help but peek out the window to see the damage, only to see the mutant laying there in pieces. She dropped the sword, and then hurried over to Cindi, helping her up.

"Are you okay?" she asked her.

But Cindi wasn't moving.

"Doctor! We need help!" Jen yelled, trying to help Cindi back into her bed.

It had been hours since the doctors took Cindi into the emergency room to treat her injuries, and despite her own injuries, Jen paced back and forth on the opposite side of the door… waiting.

The mutant that attacked Cindi was obviously the rogue mutant Commander Collins sent her to stop, but it didn't add up to her. Granted, Alex told her about the rogue mutants escaping to the past, but it didn't account for the rival companies against the merger. 'Why would a mutant want to kill a woman and her child in the past?' she asked herself.

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. If the mutants were able to go back in time and prevent the birth of, for example, a political figure, it would stop various laws from being passed. Or maybe the child was going to be a military leader, and preventing being born would put the armies at a disadvantage. At any rate, she could understand the logic of assassinating someone before they became a threat.

But why Cindi?

The two of them only had a brief conversation, but in the time they did talk, she'd come to discover that Cindi was a warm, caring person with a heart of gold. She'd done everything she could to protect Cindi and her child, but she was concerned that it may not be enough.

"Excuse me," she heard a voice say. She glanced up only to see Albert standing in front of her with a somber look on his face. Jen turned, giving him her undivided attention. "The doctors said that you were the one responsible for stopping that…" he paused, trying to find the right words. "… That thing that tried to kill my wife," he said. She simply nodded, allowing him to continue. "I can't thank you enough for what you did. If there is anything I can do for you, please tell me," he said.

Jen shook her head. "It's okay, just take care of Cindi when she gets out of here," Jen told him.

"Believe me, I intend to. The merger between Bio-Tech and Collin Laboratories will have to be put on hold for a while," he said.

"She did say that…" she paused. "Wait, did you say Collin Laboratories?" she inquired.

"Yes, that's the name of my company," he said.

Finally it all tied together for her. Cynthia's child wasn't going to be a political leader or a soldier, but somehow, over countless generations, her child was the descendant of Commander Alexander Collins himself.

Before she could say a word, the doctor walked out the emergency room with a monotone look on his face.

"Mr. Collins," he called out, quickly getting Albert's attention. "We've did everything we could for her Mr. Collins," he sighed.

"Is she okay? Can I see her?"

"I'm afraid that when she fell, she did a lot of internal damage. We were unable to stop the bleeding," he said.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm sorry sir, but your wife is gone. We were able to perform emergency surgery and save your son, but the internal damage to your wife was just too much," he told him.

Albert fell to his knees as tears filled his eyes. "Cindi," he cried.

"Your son will need to remain in the hospital for a few days for testing, but should be able to go home in a few weeks," he said, then walked away.

"I'm sorry for your lose," Jen sighed, trying to comfort him, but knew there was nothing she could do for him.

"Thank you again for everything you've done, but I need to be alone right now," Albert told him.

"I understand," she sighed, walking away.

She headed down the hallway and back into her hospital room, where he greeted her.

"You did well cadet," he told her.

"Alex… I mean, Commander Collins," she said, standing at attention.

"History, future history has been saved, and it's all thanks to you," he said.

"The Anderson baby, he's related to you, isn't he?" she asked him.

Alex let out a sigh. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you. Albert and Cynthia eventually had a son named Wesley Collins, who will be instrumental in the development of the Silver Guardians, the foundation of Time Force itself. There are a lot of things I can't tell you, but trust me when I say that all of this is for the best," he explained.

"If I'm not suppose to know, why are you telling me now?"

"Because after you go through the memory adaptation procedure, you won't remember a thing," he told her.

Time Force Headquarters

New Silver Hills, California 2999 AD

Jen opened her eyes slowly, only to discover that the entire room was spinning. Well, at least she thought it was.

It took a few minutes, but her vision returned. She found herself in one of the medical bays in Time Force Headquarters, but couldn't seem to recall the events leading her there. She tried to sit up, but the back of her head began to throb; so much so that she was forced to lay back down.

'How did I get here?' she asked herself.

Before she had a chance to debate the issue, Commander Collins walked into the room. As usual, he had on his deeply tinted sunglasses, disguising his baby blue eyes (not that Jen had ever noticed).

"Cadet," he said firmly.

"I'd stand at attention sir, but…" she was cut short.

"I understand cadet, at ease," he sighed.

"What happened?"

"Seemed during training you suffered a concussion of some sort. Don't worry, the doctor says you'll be on your feet again in a few days," he told her.

"As soon as I'm able sir, I'll complete the assignment you were going to give me," Jen pointed out.

He shook his head. "That won't be necessary. It seems my superiors are more impressed with your service record than I thought. As soon as you're physically able, you will be given your own unit to command. Provided you perform well, the command will become a permanent one," he explained.

"Yes sir. Thank you sir," she said.

The Commander simply nodded, then walked out the room. As soon as he stepped into the hallway, Captain Logan greeted him. The Captain peeked in, and then took a few steps away from the door.

"How is she doing?" he inquired.

"The memory adaptation was a success; she doesn't seem to remember anything from the mission," the Commander told him.

"Excellent. When her concussion clears up, I have another mission for her," he said.

"So soon?"

"I'm afraid it's unavoidable. Seems the mutants are smarter than we give them credit for. Their initial attack on the Anderson woman didn't discourage them from trying again. Reports have come in that another mutant has traveled to the past, this time to the year 1990," he said.

"Who is the target?"

"Young Wesley Collins is the target this time, and at 10 years old, he won't be able to defend himself," Captain Logan said.

"Will we be sending Jennifer alone, or will her entire team be going?" he asked.

"One member of her unit is from Xybria. In fact, he's the first Xybrian that completed the academy exams. The other two will join her on the mission, but its another black bag operation, no one can be told of the nature of their mission," he said.

"I understand sir," Alex said as he peeked in the door one more time, then walked away with the Captain.

Coming soon: Tapestry II