VOYAGERS! - The Voyager Chronicles
TASTES OF FREEDOM - BOOK 2
(Sequel to Discoveries)
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)
March 2007 (Revised 05/2009)
Previous disclaimers apply

Chapter 3 – WE…THE ONLY PEOPLE?

Bogg and Jeff, fully recharged from their days of relaxation and fun, arrived at the location of their next mission. After falling ever so ungracefully through the time portal, they landed in the middle of a hayfield in what at first glance appeared to be a very remote almost untouched area.

Bogg stood up, dusted himself off and began to search for his partner.

"Jeff!" He shouted. "Hey kid! Where are you?"

Several feet from his partner and surrounded by thick wall of plant stalks, Jeff sat up and yelled back. "Hey Bogg! I'm over here!"

Bogg glanced over and spotted his young partner. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yea, I'm ok." Jeff stood up and made his way over to Bogg.

"Where are we?" He asked.

Bogg opened the omni. "Philadelphia…July 4th, 1776… and just what we expected…a red light!"

"What? Philadelphia?" Jeff exclaimed. "This can't be right?"

"That's what it says, kid!" Bogg said as he held the omni in front of Jeff.

Jeff surveyed the area and suddenly latched on to his partner's arm. "Bogg, something's definitely not right here." He said in a rather low solemn tone.

Bogg, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, responded. "Yea, kid! Like I really didn't know that already."

Again, he held the omni in front of Jeff's face and pointed to its flashing red light in an attempt to drive his point home.

"As I remember from Voyager Academy…uh…I believe it was lesson 4 of the Omni Basics Class, this is known as a 'red light.' When it flashes, it means there is something wrong with history." Bogg said with a grin.

Jeff slowly nodded and played along with his partner's musings.

"Oh, I see. I've often wondered what that light really meant. I thought it meant to STOP. Thanks for setting me straight on that."

As Bogg started to reply to his partner's last statement, he lowered his brow as a look of annoyance came over his face.

"Smart…" Bogg said before his partner interrupted him.

"I know what you're gonna say…" Jeff said wryly. "Smart kids give you such a pain."

"How DID you ever guess?" Bogg asked.

"I'm psychic. Didn't you know?" Jeff replied as he threw his hands in the air.

"Oh, is that what they are calling it now?" Bogg replied curtly.

"You've had your laugh, now let's get serious." Jeff admonished. "I mean it Bogg! Something is way, way off here."

"Sorry, 'bout that kid." Bogg said sheepishly. "I can sense your concern by the tone of your voice. What do you think is wrong here?"

"Look around!" Jeff yelled emphatically, as he moved his hand across the horizon.

"All I see is fields and forest in the distance, so…what gives?" Bogg asked innocently.

"Duh! This is Philadelphia!" Jeff exclaimed. "There should be homes, churches, and other buildings all around. Not to mention the most famous of all, Independence Hall."

"Well, maybe we're somewhere outside of town. You know, like on a farm or something."

"Bogg! Don't you think we would have seen someone or something by now?" Jeff said.

Bogg began to survey the area. "I guess you've got a point. There's absolutely nothing for miles around."

"This place was a very important part of US history. Our founding fathers started the first Continental Congress here. It was where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and also where the first Continental Congress declared this country a free nation by ratifying it. Bogg we have got to find out what happened to cause Philadelphia to disappear."

"Calm down kid." Bogg reassured. "We WILL get to the bottom of this. We have to, but…where do we start?"

"Everything was ok when we left Columbus on the beach at the end of our last mission. His discovery laid the foundation for the beginnings of this nation. There are only two other major events that could have kept the colonists from settling here."

"Ok. You're the walking history book. So what were they?" Bogg asked.

"The first would be the founding of the Jamestown colony in 1607. After that, the next major event would have been when the Pilgrims landed in 1620."

"So you think something could have happened to Jamestown or to cause the Pilgrims not to make it to the new world in 1620?" Bogg asked.

"Yep. It has to be one or the other." Jeff agreed.

"Well what are we waiting for? Bogg said as he unclipped the omni from his belt and opened it. "Ok, kid, where to next?"

Jeff spouted out the date and place as if he'd lived there all his life.

"Jamestown colony, on the coast of what is now Virginia. The date is May 7, 1607, no… wait, that's when they first landed, let's get there a couple of months later, to give them time to get established. Let's say August 7, 1607"

Bogg dialed up the settings on the omni and then closed it.

"Ready kid?" Bogg asked.

"Let's go!" Jeff said as he grabbed his partner's arm.

Bogg pushed the button and the two were now on their way.