VOYAGERS! - The Voyager Chronicles
DISCOVERIES - BOOK 1
(The First New Adventure)
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)
October 2006 (Revised 05/2009)
Previous disclaimers apply
Chapter 1 – A DAY OF REST AND REFLECTION
Paris, France -- May 6, 1889.
Today would mark the opening of one of the most prestigious events ever known to man. Within hours, the main gates to the Great Exposition of 1889 would be opened to welcome thousands of visitors from all corners of the globe. As those in attendance would gasp in awe at the sights and sounds of this event, the one thing that would hold all of them captive would be the wondrous work of Gustave Eiffel, looming over them. The Eiffel Tower, a part of the main entrance to the Exposition was crafted entirely of steel and iron. For its time, it was a magnificent piece of human engineering and the achievement of a lifetime for its creator.
Although it had taken several years and the efforts of hundreds, if not thousands of men to erect this monument, its construction was not without problems. In addition to the normal construction-related issues which Eiffel and his crew faced, there were some rather unorthodox outside influences which threatened the tower's eventual completion. Unbeknownst to those involved, the renegade Drake, much like a serpent had once again reared his ugly head. The unscrupulous Voyager in his continuing quest to foul up history had devised a convoluted plot to go back in time and circumvent the construction of the famous landmark. Upon discovering Eiffel's tower missing from the Paris skyline during a mission to the city in 1960, Bogg and Jeff went back to the time of the tower's construction to uncover Drake and foil his plot. The two spent almost a week assisting Eiffel in his efforts as they cleaned up the mess and set history back on track.
With their mission completed, the two, exhausted from all their efforts, decided to jump forward in time to be on hand for the opening of the Great Exposition and to observe the fruits of their labors. They arrived on the night before the grand opening and found a small hotel on the outskirts of the city where they ate a filling meal and then turned in for a good night's rest.
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It was a beautiful, warm spring day in the City of Light. The mostly clear sky with its rich, blue glaze was highlighted with a few wispy clouds. The trees, dressed in their stunning spring fashions were softly swaying as a slight, yet intermittent breeze made its way past. Throughout the city, there was a flood of vibrant color as the spring flowers had now burst forth into bloom. Their sweet scent permeated the whole of the area and tickled the nostrils of those who ventured out to enjoy the warm sunshine.
The morning sun, currently hovering at the 10 o'clock position had begun to beam its light through the window of the room where Bogg and Jeff were sleeping. Bogg, snug in his bed and still sound asleep was undaunted by the bright light. However, the sun's bright beam having missed Bogg had landed squarely in the middle of Jeff's forehead. With this less than subtle wake-up call, Jeff sprung up, rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"Booooogggggg!" Jeff moaned with a rather sluggish voice.
He looked over and attempted to focus on his partner. As he squinted and continued to stare at him, Bogg did not respond. He paused a moment before trying once again to wake him.
"Bogg! Wake up! It's morning!"
The sleepy Bogg, still in his state of slumber, muttered some incomprehensible phrase before he turned over and threw the covers over his head.
Facing the realization that his somewhat subtle method of waking Bogg was not working, Jeff decided to take a more physical approach to his current problem. At this point, he got up and slowly made his way over to the side of Bogg's bed. He stood there for a moment as he summoned up the nerve to 'prod the sleeping tiger.' After a time, he cautiously reached out and put a hand on his partner's shoulder. With a mischievous grin on his face, he shook his partner quite aggressively.
"Bogg! Wake up, Bogg!"
"What the…!" Bogg yelled. "Earthquake?"
Jeff laughed as he continued to aggravate the sleeping Voyager.
"C'mon Rip Van Winkle, wake up!" He teased. "You can't stay in bed forever."
As he slowly turned over to face his partner, Bogg opened his eyes and looked up at him.
"What was all that shaking? Did we have an earthquake?"
Jeff put on a mischievous grin. "No earthquake. It's just me."
A look of aggravation suddenly came over Bogg's face.
"Kid, can't you see I'm trying to get some sleep here?" Bogg grumbled, as he was a wee bit perturbed for having his beauty sleep interrupted.
"Bogg, it's morning. Time to get up!"
Bogg stretched his arms and yawned.
"Ok. What time is it, kid?"
Jeff turned to glance at a little baroque style clock on the mantel behind him.
"It's nine-thirty." He said in a boisterous tone. "I'm so hungry. Can we go get something to eat?"
Bogg slowly pried himself up and leaned his back against the headboard. He was still half asleep and more than a little miffed by the tactics of his young alarm clock. After yawning and rubbing his eyes, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind in response to his partner's question.
"There's some beef jerky over there in my vest pocket. Why don't you eat that and let me go back to sleep?"
"What! You've got to be kiddin'! Jerky again!" Jeff exclaimed in disbelief. "Why can't we get some real food? You know…eggs, bacon and such. C'mon Bogg, please!"
"Lighten up kid, I was just teasing." Bogg said with a chuckle. "I'm getting tired of the jerky too."
Without hesitation, Bogg threw back the covers as he put his feet on the floor and scanned the area for his boots. "Give me a minute to find my boots on and we'll go get some breakfast. Ok?"
After spotting his boots sitting under the small table near the bed, he grabbed them and struggled a bit as he pulled them onto his feet. Upon standing, he smoothed back his hair and straightened his collar. Out of habit, he checked his belt for the omni. Much to his surprise it was missing. With a concerned look on his face, he turned to his partner.
"Where's the omni? You know I was so tired last night, I really don't remember where I put it. Did I give it to you?"
"No, you didn't give it to me." Jeff replied. "You have to admit though, you were pretty beat last night. Once we got to the room, you barely said two words to me before you took off your boots and crashed on the bed."
Bogg turned to grab his jerkin from a nearby chair and slipped it over one arm. As he struggled to get the other arm through, he leaned over and pulled back the bedcovers, hoping he would find the device on the bed. Much to his surprise, it wasn't there. He stood up and peered around the room, a look of bewilderment plastered on his face.
"Well, it's not here." Bogg said as he bit his lip.
By this time, Jeff had gone back over to his side of the room to begin his own search.
"It's not over here, either." Jeff replied as he turned to face his partner.
Suddenly, through the corner of his eye, Jeff noticed a small beam of sunlight reflecting from a table near the window. He craned his neck and focused closely on the area. Lo and behold, there it was. The omni, in all its polished beauty. He smiled for a moment and walked discreetly over to the table. With his partner still in a state of panic, frantically searching in the background, he quietly picked it up and turned to face him. Holding it a pose similar to that of the Statue of Liberty, he teased his partner once more.
"Looking for this?" Jeff said smugly.
Bogg stopped in his tracks and looked up at his partner. "Yea, where was it, kid?" He asked as he let out a sigh of relief.
"It was over here on the table." Jeff replied before walking over and handing the device to his partner.
"Hey, thanks."
Bogg clipped the omni to his belt and hesitated for a moment before removing his hand. With a concerned look on his face, he grabbed the omni once again.
"I think I'll check this again, you know, just to be safe."
Bogg flipped open the lid and peered inside.
"Well…Is it still green?" Jeff asked.
Bogg smiled and closed the lid. "Yes, it's still green." He said as he polished the omni on his vest and clipped it back to his belt.
You know kid. I'm surprised Drake gave up so easily, especially after the effort he put into trying to stop..." He paused in thought. "Uh…What was that guy's name again?"
"Eiffel... Gustave Eiffel." Jeff prompted.
"Oh yeah, Eiffel. After he tried to stop him from building that tower for the Exposition."
"You know Bogg. If Drake had succeeded, it would have been a great loss for the world. Just imagine the number of engineers and architects who came here and were inspired by Eiffel's genius. This one structure may be a modern feat of engineering today, but it has a huge influence on the future. In my time, it is one of the most famous landmarks on the planet."
"We put a stop his little bit of time meddling and he's gone for now." Bogg said boldly. "Unfortunately, we have not seen the last of him. He WILL be back, and especially when we least expect him. He's never going to forget what you and I did to him during the trial."
"And don't forget Susan and Garth." Jeff urged. "I'd say he's not real fond of them at the moment, either."
"Yea. You've got that right." Bogg agreed. "Our act of exposing his plot to take over Voyager Headquarters humiliated him and he will not rest until he's had his revenge on all of us."
Reaching over to his partner, Bogg put his hand on the kid's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"Kid, I don't mean to scare you, but we've got to stick close to each other and be ready for anything from this point forward."
"I know Bogg." Jeff acknowledged. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. But as long as you are around, I feel safe."
"There's no need for you to be scared, kiddo. I'd never let any harm come to you. You can count on that! Now enough about Drake, let's go find some breakfast. And I promise, no beef jerky!"
"Aw right!" Jeff exclaimed.
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The two made their way downstairs to the dining room. The dining room, much like the other areas of the hotel was decorated with typical 19th century furnishings and accessories. As they entered the room, the two Voyagers were completely awestruck by what they saw.
The ceilings of the room were adorned with ornate plasterwork and rich, colorful frescos. There were beautiful paintings encased in gold-leaf frames strategically placed on the walls. Some of these works of art looked vaguely familiar, as if they were works of some of the renaissance masters. The tables were covered with crisp white tablecloths and set with the finest of silverware and china. A rich, walnut-brown carpet with gold accents woven within it covered the floor of the spacious area.
The two stopped for a moment to take in the grandeur of the room and then proceeded to seat themselves at a table near the entrance.
After a few moments, a buxom young lady hostess greeted them. She had beautiful brown hair which she had meticulously pinned up in a bun. Her uniform was white with accents of heavily starched lace trim on the collar and sleeves. She slowly and gracefully walked over to their table and stood close to Bogg.
"Bonjour, Monsieur." She said as she gazed at the handsome duo.
Bogg looked up and upon making eye contact with the hostess, began to smile sheepishly. His mouth dropped open and he began to drool at the sight of her extreme beauty.
"Hello there." Bogg replied with a dreamy, yet lustful tone.
"What can I get for the two of you?" She asked.
The infatuated Voyager continued to stare at the beautiful woman, his eyes glazed over and his mouth still open. He attempted to respond to her question, but could not make his lips obey his brain's requests.
"Uh..." Bogg paused. "Uh..."
Jeff looked at his love-struck partner, rolled his eyes and nudged him on the arm.
"Bogg!" Jeff whispered. "Earth to Bogg! Hey! Food! Remember!"
Startled by his partner, Bogg left his state of love-induced hypnosis and returned to reality. "Uh... Uh, sure kid. Food. Right! Ma'am, we're here for some breakfast."
The two told the hostess what they wanted and she walked away. After several moments of mind-numbing silence, Jeff chimed in.
"Do you always have to do that?" He asked snidely.
"Do what?"
"You know…go all googley-eyed at the sight of a pretty lady."
Bogg looked at his partner, fidgeted in his chair a bit and grinned.
"What do you mean kid? I do not, repeat, DO NOT go all googley-eyed every time I see a pretty lady!"
'You do too!" Jeff argued. "Every time one walks in front of you, you go to pieces. Remember at the trial when Susan walked in and sat down beside you. You just sat there staring at her with that silly grin on your face."
Bogg, in an attempt to maintain his reputation went on the defensive.
"Kid, c'mon, that's not fair! I told you she was the love of my life." He exclaimed in a whisper.
Jeff continued berating his partner.
"And then there's the time we met Cleopatra."
"Kid, I did not go to pieces over her."
"Are you sure about that?" Jeff asked. "You remember the time we were taking her to see Marc Antony? I recall you went all googley-eyed at the sight of her and the two of you started locking lips under a tree."
Jeff raised his hands in the air to emphasize his point.
"And we all know what happened next! She took your Omni and whisked you off to New York City, leaving me stranded alone with the bad guys."
Bogg knew his partner had him cornered. Jeff, in all of his glory was in fact speaking the truth about these events. However, he just couldn't bring himself to let this thirteen year-old win this argument, no matter how true his statements were. So, he continued to make excuses.
"Kid, now wait a minute! That wasn't entirely my fault!" Bogg exclaimed. "She distracted me and grabbed my omni without my knowledge."
"Yea, right." Jeff said skeptically.
With each passing moment, Bogg's aggravation with his partner was growing, exponentially. He began to feel as if he were being put on trial again. His voice grew louder as he continued to respond to Jeff's charges.
"Ok then, here's another example." Jeff said pointedly. "Look what happened moments ago when the waitress came to our table. You took one look at her and it was like she had put a spell on you. You couldn't even answer her when she asked what we wanted. Sometimes, it's just plain embarrassing."
Jeff had driven his point home with his last comment. Not one to lose his cool on a whim, Bogg was so ticked off at this juncture you could almost see steam coming out of his ears. He quickly turned away from his partner and stared off into the distance, attempting to stifle his emotions. Upon seeing this, Jeff realized he had pushed all but the last of Bogg's 'buttons'. Not wanting to press his luck and risk the possibility of being left at the nearest orphanage, he decided to cease his banter.
For a time Bogg sat there quiet as a mouse as he continued staring at a nearby painting on the wall. Jeff had made him mad before, but never quite like this. The emotions he had churning inside of him were that of anger, shame, hurt and disappointment. Jeff's onslaught of stinging accusations had managed to pierce his thick skin and cut him to the quick. As he replayed the scene over and over again in his mind, he suddenly began to realize just how correct Jeff had been in his observations. As if the previous slurry of emotions flowing inside of him wasn't enough, now there was one more to add to it, guilt. Now feeling a fair share of that emotion for being so angry at his partner, he knew he had to make up for it somehow. After regaining control of his emotions, he slowly turned to face his partner once again.
"Kid, I…" Bogg said, before pausing for a time to collect his thoughts. He put his hand on Jeff's shoulder and looked him square in the eye. "Kid, I'm sorry if I have ever embarrassed you. I'm your partner and your friend. I would never do anything intentionally to hurt you."
By this time, Jeff too had begun to feel some remorse for even bringing up what was obviously a touchy subject for his friend. His mood grew sullen and he dropped his head.
"Hey now. What's wrong?" Bogg asked in a soft tone.
Concerned by his partner's response, Bogg reached over and gently raised Jeff's chin with his hand. As their eyes met, he noticed tears welling up in his partner's eyes.
"You are not mad at me, are you Bogg?" Jeff asked sullenly.
"Come here." Bogg said softly as he put his arm around his partner and pulled him in close.
"Mad at you? For what, finding the courage to point out an obvious flaw…" He smiled as he raised his hand and pointed to himself with his thumb. "…in MY otherwise perfect character? Well, maybe it's not so perfect after all. No, I'm not mad at you, more like mad at myself."
At this point, the guilty Voyager began to offer up a confession for his crimes.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I was getting out of line. And on top of that, you had the courage to bring it to my attention. Kid, did you ever bring it to my attention too. I felt as if I was on trial, being grilled by a thirteen year-old lawyer."
Bogg smiled at his partner again before releasing his hug.
"I am proud of you. It's a hard thing to do sometimes, you know, to point out someone's flaws. Especially when it involves a close friend. It's a sign that you growing up and in this case it seems much quicker than I imagined."
Jeff dried his eyes on his sleeve and began to smile once again as Bogg continued his little father and son-like chat with him.
"I always want us to be open and honest with one another. If I ever get out of line again, I want you to come and tell me just as you did today. I hope you will allow me to do the same, if and when the tables are turned."
Jeff nodded as his partner continued.
"I know you don't fully understand the chemistry between men and women at this time in your life, but give it a few more years and you will understand completely. Hey, you may even go googley-eyed yourself someday. No, let me rephrase that. YOU WILL go googley-eyed yourself someday."
Jeff began to laugh. "Now that's the kid I know." Bogg said warmly. "In the meantime, I will try to limit the number of times I go "googley-eyed"
"I love you, Bogg." Jeff leaned over and put such a bear hug on his partner that he could not breathe.
"I love you…too…kid." Bogg replied as he coughed and gasped for air. Jeff released his hold on him and sat back in his chair.
Without warning, the hostess arrived with their meal. She lifted the covered plates from the serving cart and placed them on the table in front of them.
"Thank you, ma'am." Bogg said in a loving tone as he looked up at the hostess.
"Can I get anything else for the two of you?" She asked as she winked at him.
"No ma'am, but thank you." Bogg replied, while still in a state of delirium.
The hostess smiled graciously, turned and pushed the cart away.
Once again seeing the overwhelming infatuation in Bogg's eyes, Jeff punched him playfully on the arm.
"Ouch!" Bogg exclaimed. Jeff laughed and started to eat.
After a few minutes of silence, Jeff put down his fork and glanced at his partner.
"So, where do we go from here?" He asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You know…our next mission. Where are we going?"
"Oh, I don't know. The omni is no longer in automatic mode, so why don't you choose a place? You're an official Voyager now. Isn't there some place in history you have always wanted to visit?" Bogg asked as he took another bite of his food.
"Well. Hmm..." Jeff paused in thought. "I know. Let's go back to the point when Columbus discovered the Americas. I would love to be there when he makes it ashore."
"Columbus? " Bogg said curiously, his mouth half full of food.
"Duh!" Jeff exclaimed. "And I guess you had your eyes on Susan during that part of your Voyager training also. You know! Columbus! C'mon, don't you remember…the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue and all that jazz. And we can't forget King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain who funded the voyage.
Bogg had an epiphany. "Oh yea, Columbus! I remember now. He was the guy I was on my way to see when my omni malfunctioned. You remember, when I landed on the ledge outside your room."
"Oh yea, and what a landing it was too!" Jeff said. "There's nothing like being in your room and then out of nowhere a pirate comes crashing through your bedroom window."
"Kid, I was dazed and confused." Bogg explained.
"Confused… I'd say." Jeff teased. "Not half as confused as I was when you barked out. 'When did they start building them this high, kid.' and 'Who are you and where's Columbus?' That was not the best of introductions."
"If it had not been for that voyage…" Bogg smiled, turned and tickled Jeff in the ribs. "I wouldn't have to deal with a smart kid that gives me a pain all the time."
Jeff chuckled and squirmed. "Quit it Bogg!"
"Ok, enough of the teasing." Bogg urged. "Let's finish eating so we can be off."
"Great!"
After about 30 minutes of talking and eating the two Voyagers sat back in their chairs and relaxed a bit.
"Oooh! I think I ate too much." Jeff moaned. "What about you?"
"Same here, kid!" Bogg rubbed his stomach and then stretched his arms above his head. "I haven't had a breakfast like that in years."
"I'd say..." Jeff agreed. "It's about time you had some real food instead of that jerky you're always eating."
"Ha, Ha! Very funny." Bogg quipped. "On that note… Isn't it time we get going? That is, if you are finished making witty remarks about your partner?" Bogg asked as he lowered his arms to his side.
"I'm ready when you are."
Bogg retrieved the omni from his belt and tossed it to his partner. "Here, it's all yours."
A puzzled look came across Jeff's face. "Why are you giving ME the omni?" He asked.
"I think it's time for you take the reins. Besides, you need the practice. You might as well get used to using the thing, because in the future you most certainly will have one of your own."
"Are you sure about this?" Jeff asked somewhat perplexed by his partner's gesture.
"Yes, I'm sure. Just don't let it go to your head." Bogg teased. "Now, let's see what ol' Columbus is up to."
"What date kid? Oh, sorry, that's your line." Bogg said jokingly.
"Well, he landed in the new world on October 12, 1492. I believe it was sometime before noon." Jeff acknowledged. He set the omni and looked at his partner.
"Ready?" He asked.
Bogg put his hand on Jeff's arm. "Let's do it! " Bogg acknowledged.
Jeff pressed the button and the two vanished.