Chapter 57

Colonel Sherman Potter walked into his office after completing rounds only to be greeted by his senior officers who were most concerned about the mysterious helicopter sitting outside of camp.

Radar was reluctantly present and he wondered if he had done something wrong as he not only saw inside the chopper but exposed it at once point had weapons.

As Sherman walked into his officer he was bombarded by an array of questions all at once. He held up a hand, "Alright! Now calm down." He waited for the officers to quiet down. "Now what is all this about?"

Margaret stated, "It's about that classified helicopter hidden outside of camp. Radar said one of the lieutenants let him see inside and it could have guns. If that chopper has guns then the camp could be a legitimate target."

"Just hold your horses, Major." Sherman cautioned. "I can ask Colonel Santini about any weapons." He looked to Radar, "Who let you look inside, son?"

"Sam did." he gulped fearing she would be in trouble.

He gave a nod, "I see."

"Will she get in trouble for letting me see inside, sir?" he asked concerned.

He assured, "She won't be in any trouble. The fact she trust you enough to let you see inside it pretty remarkable."

Radar gave a bashful smile, "I guess that's a good thing, sir."

Margaret asked, "Just what is going on?"

Sherman noticed Father Mulcahy was absent. He asked, "Where is the Father?"

Charles stated, "He's seems to have a connection to the Colonel. We thought it would be best to speak to you without him present." Charles than removed a folded up brown bag from his pocket. He unfolded the article as he spoke, "Sir, this packaging is not like anything we currently have. I have taken the liberty to examine it further under a microscope. It appears to be layers of plastic with fine layers of foil embedded inside it. What manufacturing technology can make such material? I am not aware of any at the moment." He handed him one of the bags from the MRE that the two doctor's consumed.

BJ agreed, "That packaging is pretty high tech."

Margaret stated frustrated, "That chopper is pretty high tech. Where did it come from? What is it doing here and why does Colonel Santini look like an older version of Major Santini?"

BJ added, "And String could pass as Major Hawke's brother."

Sherman looked at his officers and simply stated, "Stringfellow Hawke is Major Hawke's son." He waited for their reactions.

Hawkeye puckered in thought, "How could that be?"

BJ shrugged, "I have no idea. That makes no sense."

Sherman sounded, "Colonel Santini is Major Santini. Apparently, there is two of him here." He then waited to see if the brilliant doctors he knew could put the puzzle together.

Hawkeye stated, "That's impossible. Colonel Santini is at least thirty years older than Major Santini." He looked to his friends. "Right?"

Charles sucked in a deep breath as he suddenly figured out the secret. "The only way it is possible for Captain Hawke to be Major Hawke's son and Colonel Santini to be Major Santini is if a future version of Major Santini somehow, and I do not know how, had managed to travel through time, to the present and bring Major Santini's little boy with him who would at that point be a grown man."

Sherman smirked, "Lieutenant Beckett is Major Hawke's granddaughter and her real last name is Hawke. Beckett is an alias."

BJ stated, "Now I am really confused!"

"I will try to explain it to you the best I can." Sherman stated. "If one has access to a time machine, then one can travel through time and pick up passengers and go to another time with those passenger. Like driving a car. You get in your car and drive to your friend's house. You pick up your friend and then you drive even further away and pick up another friend. You are all in the same car but you live in different houses. Same with time. You are all in the same chopper but you live in different times."

Charles cocked an eyebrow, "Is that chopper a time machine?" It sounded so implausible to the man and yet…it began to make sense.

"They were testing a new kind of engine. Instead, of traveling from California to New York in mere seconds something went wrong and they ended up here. The chopper is a vehicle to test the new engine that Sam invented." he looked to Radar, "She's the brains behind it all, Radar. Her family also owns the chopper. No one has more authority over that chopper than she does. The crew is there to assist her in testing the engine. That's why the only one who is actually working on that chopper is her. All that the rest of the crew can do is wait this out and try to keep prying eyes away."

Hawkeye admitted, "I still don't get the car…time machine…thing…"

"There is more than one engine." he informed. "The first engine brought Sam to the crew. Then they all came here." he tried to explain. "Like a car. She picked up the crew in a different house…or time…"

Charles asked, "There is more than one time machine?"

"It's an engine." he told him. "There are two engines."

Hawkeye asked, "So if you put this…engine…in a car…what happens?"

"You have a time machine, Pierce!" Charles insisted it must be a time machine. He sucked in a breath and slowly exhaled, "As bizarre as the whole notions sounds…it appears that time travel is possible."

BJ asked, "If that's the case then why are they here?"

Sherman repeated, "It was an accident. Something went wrong and they are stuck here until they figure out how to fix it."

Margaret asked, "Are they even military?"

He admitted, "None are current military."

Hawkeye asked, "So…that's why they requested the surplus uniforms?"

"Under those flight suits was just plain civilian clothing. They are civilians. The military has nothing to do with it." he explained.

As Charles realized the implications of his discovery dollar signs danced in his head. He saw the potential to gain inside knowledge of future events and materials that could make him very rich. A smiled crept across his face, "Usually, a private endeavor is more profitable than any government backed project."

Sherman looked at the man, "You will not be using them and their misfortune to further enrich yourself, Winchester."

"I wouldn't dream of it." he excused. "Exactly how far from the future are they?" He knew it had to be decades as Sam was the Major's granddaughter.

Sherman squinted, "Why do you want to know that, Winchester?"

"Just curious." he excused.

BJ caught on, "Wait! If Colonel Santini and his crew are all from the future then they would know world events, what companies do well, what stocks to buy…" he cocked his head disappointed as he looked upon Charles.

Hawkeye asked, "They would know what stocks to buy?"

"Yes!" Charles huffed. "Don't you get it, Pierce? They would be a gold mine of information."

He slowly understood, "And you could get information to make you richer." he puckered rather annoyed.

"We could all." he told them. "Think about it. They would know when this war ends. What new products are coming. Do you really think those Meals Ready to Eat is something even in development now? This packaging is decades ahead of anything we have." He looked to Sherman, "Just how far into the future is Sam from?"

"The year 2022." he frankly replied.

Charles gasped, "2022! That's seventy years." He then figured, "This bag if from seventy years into the future. That food is decades from now."

BJ started to nod, "That's why you just add water to make the heater work. We know it's a chemical reaction."

Charles became overwhelmed, "Seventy years worth of information. Samantha would know what companies are still around in seventy years. She would know what products are still in production and she would also know about technology we can only dream of."

Sherman warned, "You are not going to press her for information, Charles. She may know all that but you will leave her alone and let her work on getting herself and Dom's crew back home."

BJ stated, "Going back to the car and years being houses. Sam's house is the year 2022. She gets in her car and goes to Dom's house. What year is that?"

"1984." Sherman told him.

BJ figured, "So, Colonel Santini is our Dom and he's is older and from 1984. So is String and…Caitlin."

He gave a nod, "That's right. Father Mulcahy recognized Dom right off the bat. So did Nurse Baker and Major Hawke."

Radar sat beside himself as he took in the information. He then grew sad and seemed a bit down.

Hawkeye noticed Radar seemed distant. He asked, "You okay, Radar?"

"I guess." he sighed. "I just finally met a girl that I really like and she seventy years from the future."

"You can still date her." Hawkeye insisted.

"Are you kidding?" he huffed. "In 2022, I'll be an old man if I'm even alive!"

Charles smiled brightly, "But my boy…she has a time machine. She's flying around with a crew from 1984."

Hawkeye looked to Charles and stated, "You seem to get this a little better than the rest of us, Charles."

He admitted, "I do not understand how this engine works. What makes the upper class different from everyone else is the ability to see an opportunity. That crew has decades worth of information and Sam invented some kind of engine which allows for time travel. Do you realize the potential with this?"

"No," he shook his head. "What I see is a crew that is stuck in a war zone and they have to hid."

Charles agreed, "It would be best if the military doesn't find that chopper or her engine." He then pondered, "Perhaps my family…"

BJ warned, "Oh' no! You are not taking that chopper either, Charles. I may not get this whole time travel thing but I do understand that you want to use them to get even richer."

Winchester argued, "If that chopper with that engine in it falls into the wrong hands…trust me, it would be far worse than my family making a little extra."

Radar perked up, "What would happen if it falls into the wrong hands?"

Charles stated, "Hitler could have won the last war."

He winced, "That would be bad."

Margaret spoke up after thinking to herself. "I think what we need to do is bring in Dom and his crew and ask them what they need us to do to help them. I don't get this time travel thing or who is from what year but it seems to me they need our help and they are stuck here."

Sherman agreed, "They do need our help. We can't let that chopper or Sam's engine fall into the wrong hands."

Hawkeye agreed, "We need to sit down with them."